





^ ^ 








*o o* 









3 ¥-& 





EMINENT AMERICAN EXPLORERS AND ARTISTS. 
1.— Gen. Custer. 2.— Gen. Fremont. 3.— Lieut. Wheeler. 4.— Prof. F. V. Hayden. 5.— Albert Bierstadt. 
■c 6.— Maj. J. W. Powell. 7.— Thomas Moran. 



The G-reat West 

Sis Jtiirgrtions an& Resources. 



CONTAINING A POPULAR DESCRIPTION OF THE MARVELLOUS SCENERY, PHYSICAL 
GEOGRAPHY, FOSSILS, AND GLACIERS' OF THIS WONDERFUL REGION; 



RECENT EXPLORATIONS IN THE YELLOWSTONE PARK, 
"THE WONDERLAND OF AMERICA," 

BY 

Prof. F. V. HAYDEN, LL.D., 

FORMERLY UNITED STATES GEOLOGIST. 
ALSO, 

VALUABLE INFORMATION TO TRAVELLERS AND SETTLERS CONCERNING 

CLIMATE, HEALTH, MINING, HUSBANDRY, EDUCATION, 
THE INDIANS, MORMONISM, THE CHINESE; 

WITH THE 

f&omesrteair, ^re^emptton, ILantr, an* JBtning Eatos. 

BY 

A CORPS OF ABLE CONTRIBUTORS. 

HANDSOMELY ILLUSTRATED WITH ENGRAVINGS AND MAPS. 



SOLD ONLY BY SUBSCRIPTION. 



BLOOMINGTON, ILL.: 

CHARLES R. BRODIX. 

1880. 






Copyright, 

C. R. BRODIX, 

1880. 



Westcott & Thomson, Sherman & Co. 

Stcreotypers and Electratyyers, Philada. Printers Philada. 



NOTE BY THE PUBLISHERS. 



The rapidity with which the far Western portion of our country has 
been explored and mapped, and the extraordinary changes made by bring- 
ing the vast Plains — but lately the roving-grounds of wild Indians and 
herds of buffaloes — into cultivation, furnishing flourishing and happy 
homes for hundreds of thousands of the restless population of the East 
or of Europe, are facts that have excited the astonishment of the world. 

Immigration has been, and is now, advancing with a ceaseless current, 
impelled by various motives. Some of the individuals composing this 
great army are actuated by a thirst for gold, excited by the marvellous 
stories of the wealth hidden in the rocks and ravines of the mountains ; 
others, moved by reports of the cheapness and fertility of the land and 
the salubrity of the climate, and undazzled by the stories of gold and 
silver deposited centuries ago to be excavated by this generation, decide 
on the wiser course of cultivating the earth. To these two great motives 
are added many that bring the merchant, the speculator, the schoolmas- 
ter, and others that follow in the train of immigration. 

To no one is the country more indebted for opening up this formerly 
unknown land to the settler than to Professor F. V. Hayden, who for 
nearly thirty years has been engaged in the great work of scientific ex- 
ploration. Professor Asa Gray, Professor of NatuFal History in Har- 
vard University, and America's most eminent botanist, says : " It has 
come in my way to know a good deal about Dr. Hayden's Territorial 
surveys for several years past, especially as to their scientific results ; and 
of late my attention has been still more called to them. I wish here not 
only to express, emphatically, my own opinion of their great value and 
of the importance of continuing them, but also to testify to the deep im- 



6 NOTE BY THE PUBLISHERS. 

pression they are making upon the scientific world. In Europe the 
learned societies, the scientific journals, as also the working naturalists in 
correspondence, speak with one accord in terms of admiration, not un- 
mixed with envy, of what our government has done and is doing in this 
regard ; and I observe that Dr. Hayden's survey and the resulting publi- 
cations are put forward as the type and exemplar." 

From a letter of Baron von Bichtofen, President of the Berlin Geo- 
graphical Society, we extract the following : " Your eminent exploring 
work, the energy with which you have conducted it, and your faculty of 
managing the working-power of a large staff so as to arrive at its full 
efficiency and to put every man in his proper place, have earned for you 
the admiration and praise of the scientific world in general and many 
eminent men in particular." 

These two extracts from numerous notices of the kind, and the fact 
that Dr. Hayden has been made an honorary member of very many of 
the principal scientific societies of Europe and other foreign countries, 
prove how eminently qualified he is for the great task of his life. 

The matters pertaining to the historical, agricultural, mining, and other 
departments of the various countries described have been also confided to 
writers of eminent ability, who have, by reason of long residence and 
careful study, made themselves well qualified for the task. 

We would here also express our grateful acknowledgments to the New 
York Independent, New York Tribune, and the governors and other offi- 
cials of the various States and Territories, for documents containing the 
latest information and placed in our hands for publication. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 

Frontispiece, Yosemite Falls and Valley (Steel engraving). 
Eminent Explorers and Artists. 

Winter Forest-Scenes in the Sierra Nevadas 75 ' 

Map of Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Indian Territory . . 81 -> 

Donner Lake, from the Snow-Sheds 89 

Cedar Creek Canon, Colorado 99 

Mountain of the Holy Cross, Colorado 105 

Interior of Shaft-House, Leadville 113 

Williams Canon, Colorado Springs 121 

Restored Tower and Cliff-Houses 129 

View in Chestnut Street, Leadville 145 

View in Harrison Avenue, Leadville 153 

A Glimpse of Denver, Colorado 161 

Lake Tahoe, Nevada 177 

Giant's Butte, Green River, Wyoming 201 

Map of Nebraska, Minnesota, and Dakota 241 

Shoshone Falls, Idaho 289 

Echo Canon, Utah 313 

Salt Lake City and Wahsatch Mountains, Utah 321 

Map of California, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and 

Washington 353 « 

Scenes in the Yosemite Valley— Bridal-Veil Fall and Mirror 

Lake 369 

The Big Trees of California 377 

San Francisco, from Goat Island 385 

An Attack on a Village of Cave-Dwellers 449 

Vernal Fall, Yosemite 465 

Eastport (Stickeen Village), Alaska 473 

Greek Church, Sitka, Alaska 477 

United States Bonded Warehouse, Fort Wrangell, Alaska . . .481 

7 



CONTENTS. 



THE GREAT WEST 



PART FIRST. 

PAGE 
17 



Comparative Size of the East and the West— Government Expeditions— The 
Two Mountain Systems— General Divisions— Mountain - Ranges— Geological 
Structure— The Sources of the Yellowstone and Missouri— Immense Fossil 
Trunks— Petrified Forests— Yellowstone National Park— Boiling Springs— Yel- 
lowstone Lake— Gevsers— Mud-volcanoes— Legislation respecting Yellowstone 
Park— Principal Rivers of the North-west— Missouri, Yellowstone, Tongue, 
Powder, Teton, White, and Niobrara Rivers— The Tertiary Lake-Basins of the 
West— The Fossil Structures— Fossil Remains of the Rhinoceros, Camel, Horse, 
Mastodon, Elephant, etc.— The Pre-historic Geography— Supposed Condition of 
the Country in Pre-historic Times— North America in the Tertiary Age— Ancient 
Life in the Far West— Immense Reptiles— Searching for Fossils— Saurians— 
Snake River— High Mountain-Peaks— The Plateau Region of the Colorado 
River— Deep Canons— Ruins in the South-western Territories— Estufas— Cliff- 
Houses— The Great Basin— Wahsatch Mountains— Great Salt Lake— The North- 
ern System of Mountains— Cascade Range— The Sierra Nevada— Glaciers- 
Glacial Action in the Rocky Mountains— Timber Belts— The Yosemite Valley- 
Waterfalls— Features of the Two Mountain Systems— Mineral Deposits of the 
West— Fossils in the Lake-Basins— Extinct Plants— Rainfall— Average Eleva- 
tion of the Land— Stock-Raising. 



PART SECOND. 

THE TRIP OVERLAND 88 

The Start from Omaha— Platte Valley— The Plains— Cheyenne— Echo and Weber 
Canons— High Cliff— The Union Pacific— The Central Pacific— To the Sierras 
— Donner Lake— Oakland— San Francisco— Hotels— Chinatown— Woodward's 
Garden— Climate— The Geysers— Yosemite Valley— Big Trees— Southern Cali- 
fornia and Arizona— The Trip to Oregon— Puget Sound— Alaska— Fort Wrangell. 



COLORADO 



General Historv— Expeditions— Discovery of Gold and Silver— Union Pacific 
Railroad— Entered the Union July 4, 1876— Climate and Health— Rainfall, 
Scenerv— Canons— Points of Interest— Platte Cafion— Colorado Springs— Garden 
of the Gods— Parks and Rivers of Colorado — Resources— Flora— Wild Animals 
—Ancient Ruins— Agriculture— Cattle, Sheep, Dairying— Towns and Villages— 
Leadville and Adjacent Camps— Denver— Society and Churches— Educational. 

9 



10 CONTENTS. 



PROSPECTING 164 

Hunting for Mineral — Seeking the " Blossom " — Carbonate Mineral — " Grub 
Stakes " — Locating a Mine — Bonding a Mine — Wages — Definitions of Mining 
Terms. 

NEBRASKA AND ITS RESOURCES 172 

Introductory — Geography — Geology — Climatic Conditions— Natural Productions — 
The Native Trees— The History of Nebraska— The Great Food-Belt of the Con- 
tinent — Nebraska the Best part of the Belt — The Cattle-Farm — Experience of 
Flock-Masters— Successful Fruit-Culture— Pisciculture — The Honey-Bee and the 
Prairie Flowers — Three Districts in Nebraska— North-eastern Nebraska — South- 
eastern Nebraska — The Centre of the Railroads — School System — Growth — State 
Institutions— Opportunities for Acquiring Land — U. P. R. R. Lands— Burlington 
and Missouri River R. R. Lands. 

Health of Nebraska 189 



NEW MEXICO 190 

Agriculture— The Rio Grande Valley — The Pecos River Valley— Cattle- and 
Sheep-Grazing — Minerals. 

Resources of New Mexico 193 

Sheep-Raising — Cattle-Raising — Fruit-Raising — Vineyards and Wine-Making — 
Market-Gardens — Woollen-Mills — Tanneries — Brickmakers — Banking — Mining 
— The Professions. 

WYOMING 200 

Scenery — Population — Stock -business — Mining. 
Report of the Surveyor-General 202 

General Description — Climate — Topography — Coal — Gold — Soda — Forests — Agri- 
culture^ — Cities, Towns, and Villages — Game — Manufacturing Resources. 

MONTANA 210 

General Description — Climate — A Healthy Region — Natural Scenery — Yellow- 
stone Park — Big Potatoes — Stock-Raising — Vast Pastures — Details of the Busi- 
ness — Dairying — Poultry — Prices of Products — Getting Homes — Mining — Busi- 
ness, W T ages, Expenses — About the Towns — Railroads — Montana Points — What 
the Governor says. 

Mineral Resources 221 

Rich Placers — Gold Quartz-Mines — Silver Camps — Dishonest Management — " Ore 
in Posse." 

Stock-Raising in Montana 224 

The Best Grazing Country in the World — Marvellous Reports of Profits — Grass 
Abundant — Not Necessary to Feed Cattle in Winter — Cattle Branded and 
Turned Out — Non-resident Speculators interested in Herds — Dividing the Prof- 
its — Sheep — Examples of Good Investments — Number of Cattle and Sheep in 
the Territory — Diseases. 

Hints to Men W t ithout Capital 231 

Cost of Travel — Establisliing a Ranche — Wages of Skilled Mechanics — Skilled 
Miners — Domestic Help — The Professions. 



CONTENTS. 11 



Distances, Time, Fare, Baggage Allowed, etc 



Fares from Omaha, Extra Baggage and Household Goods — Distances and Fares 
the Territory — Population, Distances, etc. — Average Wages. 



DAKOTA 240 

General Description — Immigration — Dalrymple's Great Farm — Northern Dakota 
—Eastern Dakota— The Black Hills— Gulch-Mining— The Gold Yield— Oppor- 
tunities for Intending Settlers — Chances for the Professions — Railroad Facilities 
— Correct Table of Distances. 



MINNESOTA . . 251 

General Description — Climate — Soil and Productions — Wheat, Corn, Oats, and 
other Grains — Stock-Eaising— Manufacturing — Great Water-Power — Minnesota 
Flour — Trade to Foreign Ports — Population. 

THE KANSAS EMIGRANTS 257 



KANSAS 258 

General Description — History. 

The Geology of Kansas 260 

Elevation — Drainage — Soil — Uplifting of the Ground — Building Material. 

Wheat — Horticulture — Stock-Raising — Sheep-Husbandry — Live-Stock — Loca- 
tion of the Best Farming Lands — Grasses — Prices of Improved and Unimproved 
Farms — Wild Lands — Abandoned Farms — Population. 

TEXAS 275 

Area — History — Physical Features — Climate — Minerals — Agricultural Products — 
Animals — Miscellaneous. 

IDAHO 279 

Mountains and Table-Land — Climate — Agriculture — Mining — Gold Hill — Rocky 
Bar — Scarcity of Mills to Work the Ore — The Placer-Grounds at Idaho City — 
Population — Transportation — Stock-Growing — Resources — Irrigation — Idaho in 
1879 — Boundaries — Area suitable for Culture. 

ARIZONA 296 

Only lately Opened to Travel — Elevation of the Ground — Dryness — Climate — 
Mineral Wealth — Mineral Park and Bradshaw District — Peculiar Method of 
Mining — Silver " Farms " — Territorial Prison — Qualifications of Voters — Area 
of Lands suitable for Cultivation — Population. 

NEVADA 302 

History — Physical Features — Agricultural Lands — Minerals — Agriculture— Ani- 
mals — Climate — Education. 



12 CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

THE SUTKO TUNNEL 305 

" A Tough Job " — Blasting through Solid Rock — A Chapter on Mules — Obstacles 
to Progress — Bad Air — Accidents — Riddled with Rocks — Cares — Fast in the Mud 
— Hospital — Miners' Union — Starting a Graveyard — Advantages of the Sutro 
Tunnel. 

UTAH 312 

Acquisition by Treaty — Area — Drainage — Topography and General Features — 
Great Salt Lake Basin — Cache, San Pete, and Sevier Valleys — Great Salt Lake 
Valley — The Mountains — Agriculture — Stock-Raising — Minerals — Railroads — 
Climate — Health — Salt Lake City. 

Mormonism 322 

Origin and Early History — Exodus from Nauvoo — Profanity of Brigham Young — 
Temples — Present Condition and Attitude of Mormonism — Condition of Educa- 
tion — Polygamy. 



Disloyal Mormonism 330 

The American Bluebeard — Anti-Polygamy Laws — Plural Wives — Weakness of the 
Laws — Mormons Refuse to Answer Questions — Confessions of Apostate Mormons 
— The Endowment-House — Penalties and Signs — Blood Atonement — President 
Hayes' Plan— The Remedy. 

OREGON 340 

Extreme North-western State — Extent — Historical — Geographical— Western Ore- 
gon — Exempt from Violent Atmospheric Disturbances — Soil, Resources, and 
Productions — Fisheries — Towns — Routes and Scenery — Approaches. 

WASHINGTON TERRITORY 347 

Western Washington— Fir Timber— Resources — Puget Sound — Climate— Eastern 
Washington — Grapes and Peaches — Wheat — Area — Towns — Snake River — Co- 
lumbia Basin — Lands — Northern Pacific Railroad — Short Winters — The " Chi- 
nook," or Warm Wind — Health. 

CALIFORNIA 354 

History — Vague Impressions of the State — Sir Francis Drake — The Spaniards — 
The Franciscan Friars — The Digger Indians — The Mexican Dominion — The 
Discovery of Gold — Influx of Population — Irrigation — The Seasons — Drainage 
— Area of Rivers — Irriga ting-Canals — Artesian Wells — Tide- Lands — Salt Marsh- 
Lands — Reclamation Schemes — Embankments — Chinese Labor — Large Crops — 
River Navigation. 

Cereal Crops of California 374 

Improvement of the Seed — Preparation of the Soil — Gang Ploughs — Harvest — Head- 
ing-Machines — -Burning Straw — Barley and Oats — Horticultural Products — Fresh 
Fruit every Month in the Year — Truck-Gardens — Fruits of both Temperate and 
Semi-Tropical Regions — Oranges — Dried Fruits — Nuts — Coffee-Culture. 

Gold-Mining 382 

First Attempts — Picks, Pans, and Shovels — Washing the Dirt — The Rocker — 
Quicksilver — Long Toms— Mining- Sluices — River-bed Mining — Blue -gravel 
Leads — Hydraulic Mining— Vein Mining — Quartz-Mills— Quicksilver-Mines. 



CONTENTS. 13 

PAGE 

The Chinese Question 387 

Pro and Con.— Habits of the Chinese— How they Work— Eestricting Immigration. 
A Labor Question 389 

The Chinaman a Mere Machine— Wages in China and California— Coolies— Labor 
Disturbances. 

Decision by the Circuit Court 391 

Extract from an Address by Eev. Jos. Cook 392 

Our Relations with China 393 

How the Chinese were Induced to Come to the United States— Transported by 
British Ships— Discriminating Laws— Kesponsibilty of the Government— Op- 
pression of the Chinese— Where the Fault Lies. 

BuRLINGAME TREATY 398 



PAET THIRD. 

EDUCATION WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI 401 

Exhibits of American Education— Foreign Critics— Magnitude of the School Sys- 
tem—General View of Educational Condition— Early Action— Examination by 
States— Texas, Louisiana, and Kansas : A Chance Picture— Schools of New Or- 
leans ; Arkansas : Elementary Schools— Collegiate Institutions— Benefits of the 
Peabody Fund; Missouri: Education in the Counties— City Systems— Schools 
of St. Louis— State University ; Kansas, Iowa, and Minnesota : Instruction of 
Teachers— Increase of Schools— Statistical Summary— Illustrative Examples- 
Provisions for Higher Education— Normal Departments — The State Universities 
— Private Schools— Religious Educational Institutions ; Nebraska : Present Con- 
dition—State University; Colorado: Salaries of Teachers; Nevada: Present 
Oonditi on— Teachers' Institutes— State University; Dakota, Montana, Idaho, 
Wyoming, and Washington Territories ; New Mexico and Arizona ; Utah : Op- 
position of the Hierarchy ; Indian Territory : Schools— Teachers— Income and 
Expenditure— Schools of the Five Nations ; Oregon : Practical Education— Park 
School, Portland— The Universities ; California : Number of Schools— Expendi- 
tures— New School Law— Supervision— Normal School— The University— Pri- 
vate Schools— Schools of San Francisco.— Institutions for the Deaf and Dumb 
and for the Blind. 

NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS 431 

Religion of the Indians— Origin of the Indian Race— The Beginning of the Great 
Conflict between the Races— The Number of Indians Now and Then— Intro- 
duction of European Laws— Love of Native Land— Establishing a Permanent 
Home for the Indians— Cost of Indian Wars— Removal of Indians— Uncivilized 
Indians— Is the Indian Race Dying Out?— The Indian has the Essential Ele- 
ments of Manhood. 

THE CLIFF-DWELLERS 445 

Discoveries in Southern Colorado— Romantic Night-Camp— Hayden Survey- 
Ruined Villages— Immense Stone Buildings— Battle Rock— Hovenweep Castle 
—Pueblo Indians— Fire-Worshippers— Pictorial Word-Writing and Hiero- 
glyphics—Inscriptions on the Walls— Wonderful Caves— Picturesque Ruins— 
Caso del Eco— Pueblo Penasco Blanca— Estufas— Remains of a Once-Powerful 
Nation. 



14 CONTENTS. 



THE YOSEMITE 457 

The Big Tree Groves — Their Location — Approaches to the Valley — Inspiration 
Point— Merced River — Bridal- Veil Fall — Yosemite Fall — In the Valley — 
Digger Indians — Hotels — Drives and Bides — A Sweeping View. 

ALASKA AND ITS INHABITANTS 472 

The Sail from Victoria — Mount Baker — Great Island Region — Glaciers — Fish — 
Raking in Canoe-loads of Fish — Furs — Climate — St. Paul — Fort Wrangell — 
Mission-Work — Native Races — A laska Canoes — Ornaments — Marriage — Polyg- 
amy — Slaves — Burials — Food — Widow-Burning — Murder of the Old and 
Feeble — Women denied Burial — Shamans — Cannibals. 

ALASKA 486 

The Greatest of the Territories — Early History— General Description — Settle- 
ments — Fort Wrangell — Sitka — Cook's Inlet — Vegetables raised on Frozen 
Earth — One Hundred-pound Salmon — St. Paul — Afognak — The Ice Company — 
Sea-Otter Grounds — Aleutian Islands — The Pribylof (or Fur-Seal) Islands — The 
Alaska Commercial Company — Habits of the Fur-Seal. 

LAWS IN RELATION TO EXEMPTION, MARRIED WOMEN, AND IN- 
TEREST 501 

California, 501 ; Washington Territory, 503 ; Montana, 505 ; Kansas, 506 ; Wyom- 
ing, 508; Idaho, 509; New Mexico, 511; Oregon, 513; Nevada, 515; Nebraska, 
517 ; Colorado, 518 ; Dakota, 520. 

Government Lands, and How to Get Them 523 

Soldiers' and Sailors' Homesteads — Homesteads to Citizens — Pre-emption — The 
Timber-Culture Act. 

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION FOR TRAVELLERS 524 

Hints for the Trip Overland — Routes— Rates of Fare to California — Union Pacific 
Railroad — Information for Emigrants — Special Rates for Excursions — Trans- 
Continental Time-Tables — Differences in Time. 



THE FAR WEST. 

BY HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW. 



Far in the West there lies a desert land, where the mountains 
Lift, through perpetual snows, their lofty and luminous summits. 
Down from their jagged, deep ravines, where the gorge, like a gateway, 
Opens a passage rude to the wheels of the emigrant's wagon, 
Westward the Oregon flows, and the Walleway and Oyhee 
Eastward, with devious course, among the Wind River Mountains ; 
Through the Sweetwater Valley precipitate leaps the Nebraska; 
And to the south, from the Fontaine-qui-bout and the Spanish sierras, 
Fretted with sands and rocks, and swept by the wind of the desert, 
Numberless torrents, with ceaseless sound, descend to the ocean, 
Like the great chords of a harp in loud and solemn vibrations. 
Spreading between these streams are wondrous, beautiful prairies, 
Billowy bays of grass ever rolling in shadow and sunshine, 
Bright with luxuriant clusters of roses and purple amorphas. 
Over them wander the buffalo herds and the elk and the roebuck ; 
Over them wander the wolves and herds of riderless horses ; 
Fires that blast and blight, and winds that are weary with travel ; 
Over them wander the scattered tribes of IshmaePs children, 
Staining the desert with blood ; and above their terrible war-trail 
Circles and sails aloft, on pinions majestic, the vulture, 
Like the implacable soul of a chieftain slaughtered in battle, 
By invisible stairs ascending and scaling the heavens. 
Here and there rise smokes from the camps of these savage marauders ; 
Here and there rise groves from the margins of swift-running rivers, 
And the grim, taciturn bear, the anchorite monk of the desert, 
Climbs down their dark ravines to dig for roots by the brookside ; 
AVhile over all is the sky, the clear and crystalline heaven, 
Like the protecting hand of God inverted above them. 



THE GREAT WEST. 



THE GREAT WEST. 

BY PROF. F. V. HAYDEN, U. S. GEOLOGICAL SUKVEY. 



1VTEVER in the history of our country has the term " the Great West " 
-L- ' possessed so much significance as at the present time. Forty years 
ago, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois were called the far Western States, while 
but little was known of the vast regions beyond ; now farms, villages, 
and cities, with the sites of future cities, are dotted over the plains and 
mountain-slopes as they stretch westward toward the setting sun. 

At the very threshold of our undertaking it is proper that we should 
make some inquiry into the extent and capacities of this great country, 
and into the physical causes that have produced its present configuration. 
If we examine any good geographical map of our country, we shall see 
at a glance that at least two-thirds of the United States of America, an 
area of more than two millions of square miles, lie west of the Missis- 
sippi River. In the portion lying east of that river, and containing less 
than half that area, now dwell between thirty and forty millions of peo- 
ple. The Atlantic coast, with its crowded population, its refined civiliza- 
tion, its great cities, its seats of learning and industrial operations, forms 
only a fringe on the eastern border of this vast continent. 

It was not until within the present century that the country possessed 
any very definite knowledge of the geography of the mountain-regions 
of the Far West. Upon the old maps the mountain-ranges were shown 
by a single line of hatchings, with a few minor ranges branching off, the 
whole trending nearly north and south, or rather west of north and east 
of south. 

The first important government expedition that was sent out to explore 
the great unknown mountain-regions of the extreme West was that of 
Lewis and Clarke, which in 1804-6 passed up the Missouri River to its 
2 17 



18 THE GREAT WEST. 

source, crossed the main Divide of the Rocky Mountains, and followed 
the Columbia River to its entrance into the Pacific Ocean. Although 
this expedition was a great and successful achievement in a geographical 
point of view, taking into consideration the time and the means at its 
command, yet much of the information it obtained was very vague, and 
limited to a narrow belt across the northern portion of the country. Lewis 
and Clarke, however, fixed pretty well the positions of the Missouri and 
Columbia Rivers. The two volumes which contain the result of these 
explorations, although possessing the intrinsic evidence of having been 
written with the utmost candor and truthfulness, read like a romance. 
The party was small and comparatively unprotected, the country utterly 
unknown, and occupied only with tribes of Indians, many of whom were 
inclined to be hostile. Every item of information which they secured 
was new and strange, and of the highest interest. 

The next explorer was Major Z. M. Pike, who in 1805-7 crossed the 
country farther south, and discovered the head-waters of the Arkansas 
River and the lofty peak which now bears his name. He crossed the 
Divide into the Great Basin. In 1819-20, Stephen H. Long was sent 
out by the government with a well-equipped party, comprising not only 
topographers, but also geologists and naturalists, among whom was the 
celebrated Thomas Say. After Long came Bonneville, Ross Cox, School- 
craft, Nicollet, Fremont, and others, all of whom added more or less to 
the store of knowledge of this great area. From 1844 to 1860 more 
than twenty expeditions were sent out by the government with the object 
of determining the best route for a railroad to the Pacific. In 1853, 
Congress passed a bill making appropriations for the determination of 
the most practicable route for a railroad from the Valley of the Missis- 
sippi to the Pacific coast. No expense was spared in equipping expedi- 
tions, which traversed the country from east to west at various points 
from latitude 49° to the southern boundary of the United States. The 
information thus obtained was embraced in a large series of maps and 
reports, which were published by the general government. Although so 
very much had been done toward the development of the resources of 
the great West, yet prior to 1868 no important portion had been exam- 
ined with such care and detail as to render the maps anything more than 
approximately correct. The information thus obtained could only be 
placed on a map projected on a small scale, where an error of five or ten 
miles would be overlooked. Within the past ten or twelve years several 
expeditions have been organized, under King, Wheeler, Powell, Hayden, 
,and others, with the object of working out certain areas with considerable 



THE GREAT WEST. J 9 

detail, including topography, geology, and natural history ; and more 
definite knowledge of the remote West has been obtained within that 
period than in all the previous years. Indeed, the period from 1868 to 
1878, inclusive, will ever be regarded in the history of our country as the 
true era of scientific exploration in the West. 

THE TWO MOUNTAIN-SYSTEMS. 
According to Professor J. D. Whitney, two great ranges of mountains 
form the skeleton of the North American continent — viz. the Appala- 
chian and the Cordilleras. The Cordilleras ranges border on the Pacific 
coast, extending southward to Patagonia, being so depressed at the Isth- 
mus of Darien as to seem almost interrupted or broken for a time. The 
term " Cordilleras " has been adopted by Professor Whitney for the series 
of mountain-ranges bordering the Pacific, extending from Mexico north- 
ward into British America. The term " Rocky Mountains " is limited 
so as to embrace only those numerous ranges that lie east of the Great 
Basin, aud really form the watershed of the continent. The name 
" Rocky Mountains " has been applied indefinitely to an extended series 
of mountain-ranges west of the Mississippi, of a great variety of form 
and structure. The term " Stony Mountains " was originally used, ap- 
parently with no intention of applying it to any one range or group of 
ranges. This term probably suggested itself to the earliest travellers on 
account of the vast masses of debris or loose, broken masses of rock 
which cover all the ranges from base to summit. This is made more 
conspicuous by the general absence of timber. From the eastern slope 
westward we pass over range after range to the Pacific coast for a 
thousand miles or more, interspersed here and there with a valley or 
park. The greatest width of the mountain-system lies between parallels 
38° and 42°. Here the mass of the mountains is a thousand miles 
or more in breadth, though the entire country west of the Mississippi, 
embracing an area of over two millions of square miles, has been in- 
fluenced by the mountain-ranges, and may therefore be called the " moun- 
tain-region." The great group of the Cordilleras extends southward 
through Mexico and Central America to the Isthmus of Darien, and 
northward into British America and Alaska to the Arctic Ocean. The 
great chain of the Andes of South America is an extension southward 
of the same group, and in a general view they all belong to one great 
system. The principal ranges on the Pacific coast are the Sierra Nevada 
and the Coast Ranges, while to the eastward, in the interior basin, are 
numerous smaller ranees- The Wahsatch range forms the eastern wall 



20 THE GREAT WEST. 

of what may be called the main Cordilleras group or Pacific Coast 
Mountains. The great group of mountains which forms the backbone 
or watershed of the continent may be denominated the Rocky Mountain 
group as a sub-generic term. We shall note hereafter the influence which 
these mountain-ranges have exerted upon the destiny and resources of this 
great country. 

GENERAL, DIVISIONS. 

Having given in the preceding pages a brief outline of the surface 
character of the great country west of the Mississippi, we shall find it 
an interesting subject of study to inquire into the plan of the growth 
and development of this vast region. 

The great area west of the Mississippi seems to have been at one time 
an enormous plateau, out of which were evolved the different ranges of 
mountains, as if they had been thrust up by some volcanic force. Let 
the traveller pass southward from Cheyenne to Denver, along the imme- 
diate base of the eastern range ; he will find that the mountains of which 
the snow-covered summits of Pike's and Long's Peaks form a part rise 
rather abruptly out of what appears to the eye an almost level prairie- 
region, and will see the inclined ridges of the various sedimentary forma- 
tions elevated to view, as if the huge granite nucleus had been thrust up, 
leaving upon its sides the sandstones and limestones of the more modern 
beds. These magnificent scenes at once fill the thoughtful mind with 
wonder and delight, and the first inquiry is as to the manner in which 
these stupendous changes have been brought about. 

In general terms, we may divide the country west of the Mississippi 
into mountain and prairie, or " plains." This latter term may be regard- 
ed as the more comprehensive one, including in the mind of the Western 
people the numerous parks and basins among the mountains. The prai- 
rie country refers more especially to the vast grassy, treeless plains of the 
eastern slope. To understand more clearly the original plateau character 
of this region, we have only to examine the numerous barometrical 
profiles which have already been constructed across the continent for 
railroad and other purposes. The explorations made in past years under 
the direction of the War Department, and those more recently for the 
different lines of rail-routes, afford ample means for its study to the trav- 
eller. If we proceed westward from any point along the Missouri or 
Mississippi River, we will find that the ascent is gradual, at first not 
more than one foot per mile, but steadily increasing until we reach the 
base of the mountains, when the ascent is fifty to one hundred feet per 



THE GREAT WEST. 21 

mile. The profile of the Pacific Railroad shows that Omaha, on the 
Missouri River, is 1060 feet above sea-level, while at Columbus, 91 miles 
bj rail westward, the elevation is 1470 feet, showing an ascent of about 
four and a half feet per mile. At Cheyenne, 516 miles west of Omaha, 
the elevation is 6075 feet, showing an ascending grade from Omaha of 
nearly ten feet per mile. This entire distance is over an apparently level 
plain, most of the way by the valley of the Platte River. From Chey- 
enne to the highest point along the line of the railroad, at Sherman, 8271 
feet, the distance is 33 miles, when suddenly the grade increases to over 
sixty-six feet per mile. From thence across the continent are numerous 
ranges of mountains, with valleys of greater or less area intervening, with 
a general elevation varying from 4000 to 6000 feet ; whence the descent 
to the Pacific is somewhat rapid and abrupt. The profile of the Kansas 
Pacific Railroad from Kansas City, on the Missouri River, to Denver, 
Colorado, shows similar results. At Kansas City the elevation is 764 
feet, at Denver, 639 miles westward, 5197, making an average ascent of 
nearly seven feet per mile across an apparently level, treeless plain. A 
few miles west of Denver the great Colorado or Front Range seems to 
rise abruptly out of the plains, its summits reaching the line of perpetual 
snow. Similar results will be found by examining the profile of the 
Northern Pacific Railroad route anywhere between the meridians of 45° 
and 48° to the Pacific coast. Indeed, there appears to have been a grad- 
ual expansion of the earth's crust until it yielded, revealing the vast mass 
of mountain-ranges which extend across the continent. The details of 
the causes of these phenomena, and the varied conditions under which 
they have occurred, are too extended for such an article as this. 

The great mass of the mountain-ranges lie west of the 105th merid- 
ian ; the united groups trend about 20° west of north. Along the east- 
ern slope the smaller or minor ridges have a trend more to the north- 
west, so that they constantly die out in the plains, giving to the eastern 
side an echelon appearance. As the small ridges run out, they terminate 
frequently in a perfect example of an anticlinal, as may be seen near 
Cache-la-Poudre River. From the notches in the outline of the ranges 
the Platte, Arkansas, and many other rivers open into the plains. About 
the sources of the Missouri River the main chain is nine degrees of lon- 
gitude farther west than in Colorado. In this broad space, and to the 
eastward, are numerous outliers, as the Black Hills, Big Horn, Bear's 
Paw, Judith group, etc., all more or less distinctly connected with the 
main chain. The Black Hills are connected with the Laramie range near 
the Red Buttes by an anticlinal valley, while the Big Horn is related in 



22 THE GREAT WEST. 

the same way, showing that all these apparently isolated ranges are clue 
to one uniform cause and were elevated at about the same time. 

MOUNTAIN-RANGES ON THE EASTERN SLOPE. 

It may not be out of place here to describe briefly some of the moun- 
tain-ranges on the eastern slope, which have already attracted much at- 
tention, and will receive far more from the public at no distant day. The 
Black Hills of Dakota, which of late years have received such a large share 
of public attention on account of the discoveries of valuable gold-mines 
within their limits, are located mostly in Dakota Territory, between the 
43d and 45th degrees of latitude and 103d and 105th degrees of longitude, 
and occupy an area about one hundred miles in length and sixty in breadth. 
According to General Warren, the shape of the mass is elliptical, and the 
major axis trends about ninety degrees west of north. The base of these 
hills is from 2500 to 3000, and the highest point is about 7000 or 8000 
feet, above sea-level. The whole range is embraced, as it were, within the 
forks of the Cheyenne River, called the North and South Branches, which, 
united, constitute the most important stream flowing into the Missouri 
River from the south side. The North Branch passes along the north- 
ern side of the range, receiving very many of its tributaries and most 
of its waters from it, but takes its rise far to the west of the range, near 
the source of Powder River, in the " divide " between the waters of the 
Yellowstone and those of the Missouri. The South Branch also rises 
in the same divide, flowing along the southern base of the range, and 
also receives numerous tributaries which have their sources in it. These 
two main branches unite about thirty miles east of the Black Hills, form- 
ing the Big Cheyenne, which flows into the Missouri about sixty miles 
above old Fort Pierre. The Moreau, Grand, Cannon Ball, and other 
rivers flowing into the Missouri north of the Cheyenne and south of the 
Yellowstone rise in a high Tertiary divide north of the Black Hills, and 
are for the greater part of the season quite shallow, and sometimes nearly 
dry ; but the Little Missouri derives a portion of its waters from the 
Black Hills through a number of small branches which flow from the 
north-western slope. 

We thus see that the Black Hills do not give rise directly to any im- 
portant stream, if we except the Little Missouri, a few branches of which 
flow from springs near the base of the hills, affording but a comparatively 
small supply of water from that source. 

Besides the mineral resources of the Black Hills, which of late years 
have turned out to be so valuable, the timber as well as the agricultural 



THE GREAT WEST. 23 

and pastoral capacities are important. All around the base are fertile 
lands, and among the Hills are large open areas which afford most excel- 
lent feeding-grounds for stock. As we have previously remarked, these 
Hills occupy an area about one hundred miles in length and sixty in 
breadth, or 6000 square miles. Nearly one-third of this area, or about 
2000 square miles, is covered to a greater or less extent with pine timber. 
Since the settlement of this country demands these resources, the facilities 
for transportation of this timber over the treeless portions of the plains 
will be provided, and the importance of these forests cannot be over-esti- 
mated. The dark appearance which the dense forests of pine timber give 
to the Black Hills at a distance has given origin to their name. 

The geological structure of the Black Hills may be briefly mentioned 
in this connection. The nucleus or the central portion is composed of 
red feldspathic granite, with a series of metamorphic slates and schists 
superimposed, and thence, upon each side of its axis of elevation, the va- 
rious fossiliferous formations of this region follow in their order to the 
summits of the Cretaceous, the whole inclining against the granitoid rocks 
at a greater or less angle. There seems to be no marked unconformability 
in the fossiliferous rocks, from the Potsdam inclusive to the top of the 
Cretaceous. From these facts we draw the inference that prior to the 
elevation of the Black Hills — which must have occurred after the deposi- 
tion of the Cretaceous rocks — all these groups of strata presented an un- 
broken continuity over the area occupied by these mountains. If this 
conclusion is a correct one, it will have an important bearing on the 
physical history of many of the minor ranges of mountains on the 
eastern slope. It will also enable the geologist to form an approximate 
estimate of the amount of erosion that has taken place since these minor 
mountain-groups began to rise above the general level of the plains. 

Proceeding in a south-west direction from the Black Hills, we find 
there are ample proofs of the connection of these hills with the Laramie 
Mountains through a low anticlinal, which can be followed for many miles. 
It is sometimes concealed by the recent Tertiary beds, but it reappears at 
different points. By the Laramie Mountains we designate that group of 
ranges which extends from the Red Buttes southward to the Arkansas 
River. This group, when examined in detail, is found to be composed 
of a large number of smaller ranges — all, as far as I have observed, of 
the true granitic type. The trend of the whole group is very nearly north 
and south — northward as far as Fort Laramie, where it makes an abrupt 
flexure around to the west and north-west, and gradually ceases or dies 
out at the Red Buttes. From this point westward and northward there 



24 THE GREAT WEST. 

is a space from twenty to forty miles in width destitute of mountain- 
elevations, though the strata exhibit evidences of dislocations or crust 
movements. 

The Laramie range is also composed geologically of a granitoid nucleus, 
with the fossiliferous formations — Silurian, Carboniferous, Jura-Trias, Cre- 
taceous, and in many places the Lignitic Tertiary — inclining from each side 
of a central axis at various angles. It is from these mountains that the 
numerous branches of the Platte River have their sources, extending a 
distance of nearly four hundred miles. From the observations which I 
have made in this range, it seems to me the conclusion is plain that all 
the above-named rocks, in a nearly or quite horizontal position, were 
some time during the Tertiary period continuous over the whole area 
occupied by them at the present time. 

The most important outlier of the Rocky Mountains on the eastern 
slope is the Big Horn range, which, though somewhat irregular in the 
shape of its mass, has a general trend nearly north-west and south-east. 
It occupies an area about one hundred miles in length and fifty in 
breadth. Near latitude 43 }° and longitude 102° the line of fracture 
seems to have partially died out toward the south and south-east, and to 
have made a gradual flexure around to the west, the whole range 
soon losing its granitoid character in the volcanic groups near the 
Wind River group. 

At the southern end of the Big Horn range we can trace a single low 
anticlinal across the prairie, connecting these mountains with the Laramie 
range at the Red Buttes on the North Platte River. They also form a 
connection with the Wind River Mountains. The central portion of 
these mountains is also composed of granitic rocks, with the same series 
of sedimentary beds turned from either flank, inclining at various angles 
from the axis of elevation, as is seen around the Black Hills and the 
Laramie. Some of the more lofty peaks are from eight to twelve thou- 
sand feet high, and are covered with perpetual snow. We may say again, 
in this connection, that the evidence seems conclusive that up to the time 
of the accumulation of a large portion of the Lignite beds at least, all 
these formations, from the Silurian to the true Lignite strata, inclusive, 
were in a horizontal position, extending continuously over the whole area 
occupied by the mountains, but as they were slowly elevated the central 
portions were removed by the erosive action of water. 

Like the Black Hills, the Big Horn range does not give rise to any 
important sub-hydrographical basins. The largest stream in this region, 
and one which gives name to the mountains, rises in the Wind River 



THE GREAT WEST. 25 

range, passes through the Big Horn Mountains, and unites with the 
Yellowstone about seventy miles to the northward. Before reaching the 
mountains it takes the name of Wind River, and assumes the name of 
Big Horn after emerging from them. This range constitutes quite an 
important feeder of the Yellowstone. Powder River, which rises in this 
range by numerous branches, drains a large area, mostly lignitic Tertiary, 
and pours a considerable volume of water into the Yellowstone near 
longitude 105i° and latitude 46^-°. Tongue River is the next most im- 
portant stream, which, though not draining so great an area, empties into 
the Yellowstone a much larger volume of water. 

Near the junction of the Popo Agie with Wind River we come in full 
view of the Wind River Mountains, which form the dividing crest of 
the continent, the streams on the one side flowing into the Atlantic and 
those on the other into the Pacific. This range is also composed to a large 
extent of red and gray feldspathic granite, with the fossiliferous rocks in- 
clining from the eastern side. The great Teton range is formed mostly 
of granitic rocks, though intersected with dykes of trachyte. Basalts are 
found on the plains to a greater or less extent, in Pierre's Hole, Jack- 
son's Hole — broad oval parks or basins among the mountains. On Snake 
River the ancient volcanic rocks seem to have been poured out over the 
country, and to have cooled in layers, thus giving to great thicknesses the 
appearance of stratification. 

THE SOURCES OF THE YELLOWSTONE AND MISSOURI. 

The mountains about the sources of the Missouri and Yellowstone 
Rivers are largely of eruptive origin. Enormous gorges have been worn 
through two to three thousand feet in thickness of volcanic breccia, ex- 
posing nearly vertical walls on either side. Probably nowhere on the 
continent can be found more striking proofs of volcanic action, and it 
appears to have occurred at a modern date, in a geological sense. Here 
and there, however, are mica and clay-slates, also feldspathic granites, 
rising from beneath the eruptive layers and inclining at various angles. 
One of the most extraordinary features in the region about the sources 
of the Yellowstone are a series of what appear to be stratified rocks, 
composed of volcanic products, which were thrown out of the earth's 
interior during the remarkable period of volcanic activity, the remains 
of which are now seen in the numerous geysers and hot springs that 
have given such celebrity to the country. These volcanic products seem 
to have been thrown out into water, and afterward redistributed in the 
form of strata of breccias, conglomerates, tuffs, and sandstones. Alon^ the 



26 THE GREAT WEST. 

East Fork of the Yellowstone River, and in the Gallatin range, about the 
sources of Canon and Boulder Creeks, these beds reach a thickness of 
from three to five thousand feet. Among the breccias are found remark- 
able specimens of silicified wood. Trunks of trees several feet in diameter, 
and in one instance twelve feet in length and ten feet across, occur in an 
upright position. Prostrate trunks of trees fifty to sixty feet in length 
and five to six feet in diameter are not uncommon. Mr. W. H. Holmes, 
who was a member of the United States Geological Survey of the Terri- 
tories in charge of Dr. Hay den, made an examination of these curious 
trees in the Yellowstone Park. From an article in the Bulletin of the 
survey, February, 1879, I make the following extracts, which must be 
read with deep interest : 

" The standing trunks are generally rather short, the degradation of the 
compact enclosing strata being so slow that the brittle trunks break down 
almost as fast as they are exposed. In many cases the roots are exposed, 
and may be seen penetrating the now solid rock with all the original 
ramifications. One upright trunk, of gigantic proportions, rises from 
the enclosing strata to the height of twelve feet. By careful measure- 
ment it was found to be ten feet in diameter, and as there is nothing to 
indicate to what part of the tree the exposed section belongs, the roots 
may be far below the surface, and we are free to imagine that there is 
buried here a worthy predecessor of the giant Sequoias of California. 
Although the trunk is hollow and partly broken down on one side, the 
woody structure is perfectly preserved, the grain is straight, and the 
circles of growth distinctly marked. The bark, which still remains on 
the firmer parts, is four inches thick, and retains perfectly the original 
deeply-lined outer surface. Specimens of the wood and bark were col- 
lected, but no microscopic examinations have been made. It is clear, how- 
ever, that the tree was not a conifer. The strata which enclose this trunk 
are chiefly fine-grained greenish sandstones, indurated clays, and moder- 
ately coarse conglomerates. They have been built around it as it stood 
in comparatively shallow but doubtless quiet waters. As would naturally 
be expected, these strata contain many vegetable remains : branches, root- 
lets, fruits, and leaves are extensively enclosed. One stratum of sand- 
stone that occupies a horizon nearly on a level with the present top of 
the giant tree contains a great variety of the most perfectly preserved 
leaves. Such specimens as we were able to bring away with us have 
been submitted to Professor Leo Lesquereux for identification. They 
are found by him to belong to the Lower Pliocene or Upper Miocene, 



THE GREAT WEST. 27 

and correspond in a number of their species with the Chalk Bluffs 
specimens of Professor Whitney 

" As far above the leaf-bearing horizon as I was able to ascend the 
silicified trunks were very numerous and well preserved, and by the aid 
of a field-glass others could be detected in all parts of the cliff to the 
highest stratum. 

" At another point, nearly a mile farther east, I climbed the rugged 
walls of the mountain for the purpose of examining a number of large 
trees that were visible from below. Trunks and fragments of trunks 
were found in great numbers and in all conceivable positions. In most 
cases the woody structure is well preserved ; the trunks have a tendency 
to break in sections, and on the exposed ends the lines of growth, from 
centre to circumference, can be counted with ease. In many cases the 
wood is quite completely opalized or agatized, and such cavities as ex- 
isted in the decayed trunks are filled with beautiful crystals of quartz 
and calcite. Our party was so fortunate as to procure some very hand- 
some specimens of amethyst and ferruginous quartz. It is a matter 
worthy of observation that nearly all of the beautiful crystals that occur 
so plentifully in this region have been formed in the hollows of silicified 
trees. The same fact has been noticed in regard to similar crystals in 
many parts of the West, and notably in the case of the smoky quartz of 
the Pike's Peak region in Colorado. 

" The silicifying agents have been so unusually active in the strata of 
the volcanic Tertiary that not only are all organic remains thoroughly 
silicified, but all cavities in the loosely-bedded rocks and all fracture- 
lines in the strata are filled with chalcedony or other forms of quartz. 

" On reaching the heavily-bedded conglomerates of the upper third of 
the cliff, I found the trees still more perfectly preserved. Many of the 
trunks are twenty and thirty feet in height. Their roots are in most 
cases imbedded in the layers of finer-grained materials in which they 
grew, while the battered and branchless trunks are encased in the coarse 
conglomerates and breccias. These latter rocks are composed chiefly of 
basaltic fragments, many of which are of great size ; there is, however, 
always enough tufaceous and other fine-grained material to fill in the 
interstices and act as a cement. These beds are massive and irregular, 
and seem to have accumulated too fast to be thoroughly redistributed 
by the waters. Only the stronger trees of the forest seem to have with- 
stood the fierce storms of rocks that must have prevailed at the period of 
their entombment, as the smaller trunks and branches are prostrate or 
totally destroyed. In most cases where upright trunks penetrate the 



28 THE GREAT WEST. 

entire thickness of an enclosing bed, the tops may be seen to terminate 
with the upper surface of that bed, as if causes had acted at the begin- 
ning of the deposition of the succeeding stratum to plane down the 
irregularities of the old surface. In due course of time this succeeding 
stratum produced its growth of forest, which followed its many prede- 
cessors into the subterranean depths, and in its turn was buried by the 
rapidly-accumulating conglomerates. This remarkable alternation of 
events seems, in a general way, to have been kept up from the beginning 
to the end of the period. 

" The very precipitous character of the cliffs prevented me from reach- 
ing the upper part of the wall at this point, but I succeeded in making 
my way to the summit of the mountain at two other points, and found 
that everywhere the section was practically the same. 

" On the opposite side of the valley the same conditions were observed : 
the fossil trees occur at the highest point reached — three thousand feet 
above the river. The ranges that form the rim of this valley on the 
north and east reach an elevation of eleven thousand five hundred feet, 
and as the conglomerates may be seen reaching and forming the loftiest 
summits without perceptible break or change of character, it is probable 
that they will be found to enclose the remains of forests throughout. 

" On some of the higher summits to the east of Yellowstone Lake 
similar stratified conglomerates contain silicified wood in a very frag- 
mentary state. These conglomerates are composed mainly of basaltic 
and trachytic materials, but contain large quantities of fragments of sand- 
stones and quartzites, which leads to the conclusion that portions of the 
earlier Tertiary strata have been broken up and ejected with the igneous 
products. It is quite probable that these strata were among the later 
products of the volcanic Tertiary age proper. They are generally found 
abutting against masses of unstratified igneous materials that probably 
mark the sites of islands which were doubtless volcanic centres. I find 
that as we recede from these centres of eruption the strata diminish very 
perceptibly in thickness and coarseness of materials, and have at the 
same time a very perceptible dip toward the surrounding valleys. One 
is at times led to suspect that portions at least of these beds are of sub- 
aerial formation, as is the case with extensive strata about the cones of 
modern volcanoes, but there are a multitude of facts that go to prove that 
the greater part of the formations of this age were rearranged or sedi- 
mented in water." 

The plains along the lower Yellowstone are in many localities so 
thickly covered with silicified trees that they have received the name of 



THE GREAT WEST. 29 

" petrified forests." The strong resemblance of these stony trees to the 
dry fallen trunks of modern timber is most remarkable. The woody 
fibre and the layers of growth are as perfect and natural as in our living 
trees. Yet they all belong to a past age, the Tertiary, and the species or 
varieties are extinct, yet undoubtedly are the true ancestors of our living 
vegetation. (We may refer to this subject again in connection with 
remarks on the ancient vegetation of the West.) 

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK. 

In this connection we may describe briefly some of the wonders of the 
Yellowstone National Park and its surroundings. Within the last decade 
the remarkable scenery of the Rocky Mountain region has become more 
and more familiar to the travelling public, and as the facilities for reaching 
every portion of our great West are increasing every year, those portions 
which have hitherto been considered accessible only to the adventurous 
explorer or pioneer will soon be easily reached by the general public. 
Already a railroad from Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory, to the Yellow- 
stone Park has been commenced, and 125 miles of it are to be completed 
during the year 1880. The far-famed Yosemite Valley, the Snowy 
Sierras, the deep gorges of the Colorado of the West, the great area of 
lofty mountain-peaks in Central Colorado — not surpassed by the world- 
renowned scenery of the Alpine districts of Europe — are now reached 
with comparatively little difficulty by the travelling public. Indeed, 
it may now be said that the era of exploration is past for the United 
States and Territories, for there are now no tracts of any size that have 
not been examined with more or less care, and the novelty taken from 
them. 

Located in the north-western corner of Wyoming Territory, about the 
head-waters of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers, is a tract of coun- 
try more remarkable for the wonderful phenomena of Nature than any 
other region of the globe. It may very properly be called the " North- 
ern Wonderland," in contradistinction to a similar region in New Zea- 
land which is now known as the " Southern Wonderland." It is a sin- 
gular fact that this marvellous region has been known to the world with 
any certainty only for a period of about ten years. Vague rumors of 
burning plains, boiling springs, volcanoes ejecting water and mud, great 
lakes, and other wonders, had indeed reached the civilized world from 
time to time, but as the most astounding stories of petrified forests, of 
animals turned to stone, and of streams flowing so rapidly that their 
waters became heated were intermingled with these rumors, the latter 



30 THE GREAT WEST. 

were disregarded altogether, and were looked upon as the wild vagaries 
of wandering mountaineers. 

Captains Lewis and Clarke, in their exploration of the head-waters of 
the Missouri in 1805, seem to have heard nothing of the marvels at -the 
sources of the Madison and Yellowstone Rivers. The Yellowstone Lake 
was placed by them on the map as a large body of water, but they had 
no personal knowledge yet, their information having been, in all prob- 
ability, derived from the Indians. The first trustworthy accounts that 
made any impression on the public were given by a small party under 
General Washburne, the surveyor-general of Montana, and escorted by a 
small body of United States soldiers under Lieutenant G. C. Doane, in 
1870. This party spent about a month in these interesting localities. 
Hon. N. P. Longford the same year gave a popular account of these 
phenomena in Scribner's Monthly, which excited great interest. Many 
other expeditions, official and unofficial, too numerous to mention in this 
connection, have since visited this region. During the seasons of 1871 
and 1872 the writer conducted a thoroughly-organized corps in this dis- 
trict, and made a systematic survey of it. The official report of the expe- 
dition of 1871, published by the government, created so great an interest 
among the people that, through the efforts of the writer, in February, 
1872, Congress was induced to pass an act withdrawing from settlement, 
occupancy, or sale under the laws of the United States an area about the 
sources of the Yellowstone River embracing about thirty-five hundred 
square miles, dedicating and setting it apart as a public park or pleasure- 
ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people. 

Up to the time of these explorations the great Divide or watershed of 
the continent was probably the least-known region in America, although 
it exceeds all other regions in geographical as well as geological interest. 
So much information of a strictly scientific character was obtained at that 
time, so many new streams and lakes were surveyed and properly located, 
that our knowledge of this wonderful land may be said to have been 
placed upon a reliable basis. 

From a purely geographical point of view, the Yellowstone National 
Park may be said to embrace some of the most remarkable and instruc- 
tive features in North America. It forms the very apex or divide of 
the continent. Within a radius of twenty-five miles may be found the 
sources of three of the largest rivers in America. The general elevation 
is from six to eight thousand feet above sea-level, while the mountains, 
the eternal snows of which form the sources of the great rivers just men- 
tioned, rise to the height of from ten to twelve thousand feet. Plowing 



THE GREAT WEST. 31 

northward are the numerous branches of the Missouri, Yellowstone, and 
Wind Rivers, all of which eventually unite in one great stream, the Mis- 
souri ; to the south are the branches of Green River, which latter unites 
with the Colorado and finally empties into the Gulf of California ; while 
south and west flow the branches of Snake River, which, joining the 
Columbia, pour their vast volume of water into the Pacific. 

The Yellowstone Lake, which is one of the most beautiful bodies of 
water on the continent, is always of a deep emerald-green color, and is set 
like a gem amid the surrounding volcanic mountain-peaks. On the south 
side of the lake, not more than half a mile distant from it, and not over 
three hundred feet above the level of its surface, is the Divide between 
the drainage of the Atlantic and Pacific slopes. It would require but 
little labor to turn the waters of the lake into Snake River. Here is 
located the celebrated Two-Ocean Pass, where at certain seasons of the 
year the waters of the same channel separate, a portion flowing in either 
direction. From the summits of the snow-capped peaks surrounding the 
lake the view is grand beyond description. From the top of Red Moun- 
tain, on the south side, the scope of vision embraces a circle having a 
radius of one hundred and fifty miles, within which four hundred and 
seventy mountain-peaks worthy of a name can be distinctly seen. The area 
swept by the eye from this point cannot be much less than from thirty to 
fifty thousand square miles, embracing portions of Wyoming, Montana, 
Idaho, and Utah, and exhibiting every variety of the grandest and most 
beautiful scenery. Ten large lakes and several smaller ones are taken in 
by this view, and the entire Yellowstone Park is spread out under the 
eye. The purity of the atmosphere in these high latitudes is well known, 
so that these statements Avill not seem exaggerated. On the east side of 
the Yellowstone River, between the first and second canons, we find one 
of the most symmetrical and remarkable ranges of mountains to be seen 
in the West. This range was called the Yellowstone, and has been pro- 
nounced by Alpine travellers to be equal in beauty and artistic form to 
any in Central Europe. Sharp, jagged peaks and pyramidal masses stand 
out boldly against the sky, their snow-crowned heads glittering in the 
sunlight. The central portion of this range is composed of granite rocks, 
through the fissures of which the igneous matter has risen to the surface, 
covering the sides and summits and giving to the entire mass a peculiarly 
sombre hue. At the west base of this range is one of the remarkable 
lake-basins for which the West has now become famous. This basin has 
a length of thirty miles and an average width of five miles. It is sup- 
posed that during the Pliocene Tertiary period there was a series of these 



32 THE GREAT WEST. 

peculiar lake-basins all along the upper portions of the great rivers of the 
West, in the sediments of which were entombed the remains of many- 
extinct animals, such as the mastodon, elephant, rhinoceros, camel, horse, 
etc., which thousands of years ago roamed over this broad region unmo- 
lested by man. 

To the geologist the Yellowstone Park oilers an endless field for obser- 
vation and speculation. As we have previously remarked, this entire area 
was, in comparatively modern geological times, the scene of the most won- 
derful volcanic activity known in any portion of our country. From 
innumerable craters or vast fissures in the earth's crust were ejected in 
Pliocene or Post-Pliocene times vast quantities of fragments of rocks, 
ashes, tuffs, etc. into the surrounding waters, where they were rearranged 
in horizontal beds from three to five thousand feet in thickness. It was 
from these beds that the strange, marvellous forms which meet the eye at 
every point have been carved out by the erosive action of water. The 
Grand Canon of the Yellowstone River, the towers of Tower Falls, and 
the deep gorges of the branches of the East Fork are marked illustrations 
of this strange scenery. These walls are surmounted by a great variety 
of architectural forms, among which it does not require a vivid imagi- 
nation to trace huge castles and fortress-walls. The prevailing hue is a 
sombre black, although in many localities almost every shade of color is 
represented. Perhaps the most prominent feature of the park, iu which 
it differs from the Yosemite Valley and other remarkable localities, is the 
variety of its scenery. The traveller passes from one unique scene to an- 
other, so that his vision never wearies and is never satisfied. 

THE HOT SPEINGS OF YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK. 

Among the remarkable natural phenomena of the Yellowstone National 
Park, none have attracted more attention from travellers and scientists 
than the thermal springs, which occur in great numbers. Almost every 
known variety of hot springs is found here, which are the result of vol- 
canic action. The Geysers of Iceland, which have excited the wonder of 
scientific men for several centuries, the still more remarkable and nume- 
rous hot springs of New Zealand, the mud springs and mud geysers of 
Java, the sulphur and steam vents which occur in almost all volcanic 
regions, exist here in vast numbers. Indeed, they surpass in number 
and magnitude all the world besides. These hot springs, which are 
slowly dying out, represent the last of a series of remarkable phys- 
ical events. 

The hot springs of the park may be separated into two classes, based 



THE GREAT WEST. 33 

on the character of their deposits — namely, those in the deposits of 
which lime predominates, and those in which silica is most abundant. 
The remarkable group on Gardiner's River illustrates the first class, while 
the Upper and Lower Geyser Basins of the Firehole River are the most 
striking examples of the second class. The character of the deposit de- 
pends upon the nature of the underlying rocks through which the heated 
waters reach the surface. Beneath the calcareous deposit of the hot 
springs of Gardiner's River there are from fifteen hundred to two thou- 
sand feet of limestone strata. The heated waters on their way upward 
dissolve the lime, and the latter reaches the surface in solution, and is 
left by evaporation in the beautiful and unique forms which so much ex- 
cite the admiration of the observer. The siliceous springs come to the 
surface through volcanic and other rocks in which silica is the principal 
constituent, and the silica is deposited about the orifice in the same way 
as the lime, but at a far less rapid rate. Here it is again the process of 
evaporation which forms the beautiful decorations about the springs. It 
is, however, to the wonderful variety, exquisitely delicate colors, and the 
almost unnatural transparency of the waters that these springs owe much 
of their attractiveness. The orifices through which the hot waters issue 
are beautifully enamelled with a porcelain-like lining, and around the 
edges a layer of sulphur is precipitated. Along the sides and bottoms 
of the numerous little channels of the streams that flow from these springs 
there is a striking display of the most vivid colors, consisting of various 
shades of red, from scarlet to a bright rose-tint, and yellow, from bright 
sulphur through all conceivable shades to light cream-color. There are 
also various shades of green, arising from the peculiar vegetable forms 
with which many of the springs are filled. Great quantities of a fibrous, 
silky substance, which occurs in the little streams that flow from the boil- 
ing springs, and vibrates with the smallest movement of the water, add 
still more to the beauty of the scene. 

The remarkable transparency and deep, vivid blue color of the waters, 
as seen in many of the springs, are marvels which attract the eye of the 
traveller. The sky, with the smallest cloud that flits across its face, is 
reflected in the clear depth of these waters, and the ultramarine colors 
displayed by them, more vivid even than the deep blue of the sea, are 
greatly heightened by the constant gentle vibration. One can look down 
into the clear depths and see with perfect distinctness the minutest orna- 
ment on the inner sides of the basin. 

These springs represent every stage of development, from the most ac- 
tive geysers of the first class in power and size to the entire extinction of 



34 THE GREAT WEST. 

all activity. In the Upper and Lower Geyser Basins of the Firehole 
River there are about fifty springs that might be regarded as geysers of 
the first class, throwing upward a column of water from a few feet to 
over two hundred feet in height. Then there is every grade downward 
to simple boiling, or even quiet, hot springs. All about are seen great 
numbers of dead springs which may once have been geysers of the first 
class. Among the hundreds of groups of springs that are distributed 
over the park the proofs of former intensity are everywhere to be found, 
showing that the springs still left are only remnants as compared with 
the number and power of those that must have existed at the cessation of 
the true volcanic forces. 

Next to the geysers are the mud volcanoes, mud springs, fumaroles, or 
salses, as they are usually termed. They also vary in grade from a sim- 
ple bowl of turbid water to a vast crater of seething mud fifty to one 
hundred feet in diameter. Many of these mud springs are of great 
beauty, the siliceous fine clay presenting every shade of yellow and pink, 
derived from the ferric oxides, and a fineness of composition that would 
equal the purest meerschaum. 

There are also deep boiling caldrons from which are emitted clouds of 
sulphurous vapors and steam that settle down upon the surrounding veg- 
etation, encrusting it with fine mud. Dr. Hochstetter, speaking of the 
same phenomena in the great Southern Wonderland of New Zealand, de- 
scribes them as follows : 

" The entrance to the ravine is overgrown with a thicket, and is rather 
difficult of access; it also requires considerable caution, as suspicious 
places have to be passed where the visitor is in danger of being swal- 
lowed up in the heated mud. Inside, the ravine has the appearance of a 
volcanic crater. The bare walls, utterly destitute of vegetation, are ter- 
ribly fissured and torn, and odd-looking serratures, threatening every mo- 
ment to break loose, loom up like dismal spectres of red, white, and blue 
fumarole clay, evidently the last remains of decomposed rocks. The bot- 
tom of the ravine is simmering. There lies a deep basin of boiling wa- 
ter ; next to this is a terrible hole emitting hissing jets of steam ; and 
farther on are mud-cones, from two to five feet high, vomiting hot mud 
from their craters with dull rumblings, and imitating on a small scale the 
play of large fire volcanoes." * 

I will not dwell on the probable origin of these thermal springs, as 
they have been studied by some of the ablest men of science in Europe, 
as Bunsen, Bischolf, Tyndall, and others, and their conclusions have been 
* Hochstetter's New Zealand, p. 414. 



THE GREAT WEST 35 

accepted. It is supposed that they are all remnants of volcanic action, 
and, like volcanoes, derive their heat from some deep-seated portion of 
the earth's crust. Geysers may be regarded as volcanoes, except that the 
former throw out heated waters, while the latter eject melted materials, etc. 

LEGISLATION RESPECTING YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK. 

As has been previously stated, during the session of 1871-72 both 
Houses of Congress passed a bill to set apart an area about the sources of 
the Yellowstone River embracing these wonderful curiosities as a public 
park for the benefit and instruction of the people. At the request of 
the committee to whom the bill was referred, the writer prepared the fol- 
lowing report, and on the strength of the information contained therein 
the bill became a law: 

" The Committee on the Public Lands, having under consideration bill 
H. R. 764, would report as follows : 

" The bill now before Congress has for its object the withdrawal from 
settlement, occupancy, or sale under the laws of the United States a tract 
of land fifty-five miles wide by sixty-five long about the sources of the 
Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers, and dedicates and sets it apart as a 
great national park or pleasure-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of 
the people. The entire area comprised within the limits of the reserva- 
tion contemplated in this bill is not susceptible of cultivation with any 
degree of certainty, and the winters would be too severe for stock-raising. 
Whenever the altitude of the mountain-districts exceeds six thousand 
feet above tide-water, their settlement becomes problematical, unless there 
are valuable mines to attract the people. The entire area within the 
limits of the proposed reservation is over six thousand feet in altitude, 
and the Yellowstone Lake, which occupies an area fifteen by twenty-two 
miles, or three hundred and thirty square miles, is 7788 feet. The ranges 
of mountains that hem the valleys in on every side rise to the height 
of ten to twelve thousand feet, and are covered with snow all the year. 
These mountains are all of volcanic origin, and it is not probable that 
any mines or minerals of value will ever be found there. During the 
months of June, July, and August the climate is pure and most invigor- 
ating, with scarcely any rain or storms of any kind, but the thermometer 
frequently sinks as low as 26°. There is frost every month in the year. 
This whole region was in comparatively modern geological times the 
scene of the most wonderful volcanic activity of any portion of our 
country. The hot springs and geysers represent the last stages — the 
vents or escape-pipes — of these remarkable volcanic manifestations of 



36 THE GREAT WEST. 

the internal forces. All these springs are adorned with decorations more 
beautiful than human art ever conceived, and which have required thou- 
sands of years for the cunning hand of Nature to form. Persons are 
now waiting for the spring to open to enter in and take possession of 
these remarkable curiosities, to make merchandise of these beautiful 
specimens, to fence in these rare wonders so as to charge visitors a fee, as 
is now done at Niagara Falls, for the sight of that which ought to be as 
free as the air or water. 

" In a few years this region will be a place of resort for all classes of 
people from all portions of the world. The Geysers of Iceland, which 
have been objects of interest for the scientific men and travellers of the 
entire world, sink into insignificance in comparison with the hot springs 
of the Yellowstone and Firehole Basins. As a place of resort for in- 
valids it will not be excelled by any portion of the world. If this bill 
fails to become a law this session, the vandals who are now waiting to 
enter into this wonderland will in a single season despoil beyond recovery 
these remarkable curiosities, which have required all the cunning skill of 
Nature thousands of years to prepare. 

" We have already shown that no portion of this tract can ever be 
made available for agricultural or mining purposes. Even if the altitude 
and the climate would permit the country to be made available, not over 
fifty square miles of the entire area could ever be settled. The valleys are 
all narrow, hemmed in by high volcanic mountains like gigantic walls. 

" The withdrawal of this tract, therefore, from sale or settlement takes 
nothing from the value of the public domain, and is no pecuniary loss to 
the government, but will be regarded by the entire civilized world as a 
step of progress and an honor to Congress and the nation. 

"Department op the Interior, "I ^ 
Washington, D. C, January 29, 1872. J 

" Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your commu- 
nication of the 27th inst., relative to the bill now pending in the House 
of Representatives dedicating that tract of country known as the Yellow- 
stone Valley as a national park. 

" I hand you herewith the report of Dr. F. V. Hayden, United States 
Geologist, relative to said proposed reservation, and have only to add 
that I fully concur in his recommendations, and trust that the bill referred 
to may speedily become a law. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

" C. Delano, Secretary. 

" Hon. M. H. Dunnele, House of Representatives. 



THE GREAT WEST. 37 

" The committee therefore recommend the passage of the bill without 
amendment." 

The text of the bill is as follows : 

"An act to set apart a certain tract of land lying near the head-waters 
of the Yellowstone River as a Public Park. Be it enacted by the Senate 
and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Con- 
gress assembled, That the tract of land in the Territories of Montana and 
Wyoming lying near the head-waters of the Yellowstone River, and 
described as follows — to wit : commencing at the junction of Gardiner's 
River with the Yellowstone River, and running east to the meridian 
passing ten miles to the eastward of the most eastern point of Yellow- 
stone Lake ; thence south along said meridian to the parallel of latitude 
passing two miles south of the most southern point of Yellowstone Lake ; 
thence west along said parallel to the meridian passing fifteen miles west 
of the most western point of Madison Lake ; thence north along said 
meridian to the latitude of the junction of the Yellowstone and Gardi- 
ner's Rivers ; thence east to the place of beginning, — is hereby reserved 
and withdrawn from settlement, occupancy, or sale under the laws of the 
United States, and dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasuring- 
ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people ; and all persons who 
shall locate or settle upon or occupy the same or any part thereof, except 
as hereinafter provided, shall be considered trespassers and removed 
therefrom. 

" Sec. 2. That said public park shall be under the exclusive control 
of the Secretary of the Interior, whose duty it shall be, as soon as prac- 
ticable, to make and publish such rules and regulations as he may deem 
necessary or proper for the care and management of the same. Such 
regulations shall provide for the preservation from injury or spoliation 
of all timber, mineral deposits, natural curiosities, or wonders within 
said park, and their retention in their natural condition. The Secretary 
may, in his discretion, grant leases for building purposes, for terms not 
exceeding ten years, of small parcels of ground, at such places in said 
park as shall require the erection of buildings for the accommodation of 
visitors ; all of the proceeds of said leases and all other revenues that 
may be derived from any source connected with said park to be expended 
under his direction in the management of the same and the construction 
of roads and bridle-paths therein. He shall provide against the wanton 
destruction of the fish and game found within said park, and against 
their capture or destruction for the purpose of merchandise or profit. 
He shall also cause all persons trespassing upon the same after the pas- 



38 THE GREAT WEST. 

sage of this act to be removed therefrom, and generally shall be author- 
ized to take all such measures as shall be necessary or proper to fully car- 
ry out the objects and purposes of this act." Approved March 1, 1872. 

PRINCIPAL. RIVERS OF THE NORTH-WEST. 

In this connection it is thought best to present a brief account of the 
principal rivers that drain the vast area of the North-west. 

The Missouri Kiver and its tributaries form one of the largest as well 
as most important hydrographical basins in America. They drain an 
area of nearly or quite one million square miles. Rising in the loftiest 
portion of the Rocky Mountains, the Missouri flows northward in three 
principal branches — Madison, Gallatin, and Jefferson Forks — to their 
junction, and then proceeds onward until it emerges from the Gate of the 
Mountains, nearly two hundred miles ; it then bends to the eastward, flow- 
ing in this direction to the entrance of White Earth River, a distance of 
nearly five hundred miles ; it then gradually bends southward to its junc- 
'tion with the Mississippi, a distance of fifteen hundred to two thousand 
miles. The branches which form the sources of the Missouri rise in and 
near the Yellowstone National Park, flowing for the most part through 
metamorphic and volcanic rocks, until the main river emerges from the 
mountains into the plains, where it passes over Jura-Trias beds. The 
Falls of the Missouri, which extend for a distance of twenty or thirty 
miles, cut their way through a great thickness of these Jura-Trias rocks. 
Below the falls the channel passes through the soft yielding clays and 
sands of the Cretaceous beds for two hundred and fifty miles, with the 
exception of the Judith Tertiary Basin, which is about forty miles in 
length. The Cretaceous beds then reappear, extending nearly to the 
mouth of Milk River, where the Lignitic beds commence. These are 
also composed of sands, marls, and clays, with intercalated beds of brown 
coal of greater or less economic value. The river flows through these 
Lignitic beds to the mouth of Heart River, below Fort Union, a distance 
of nearly two hundred and fifty miles, where the Cretaceous rocks rise 
to the surface again. These latter formations extend to within a short 
distance of Council Bluffs, more than five hundred miles. (I have esti- 
mated the distance in a straight line as nearly as possible.) Just above 
Council Bluffs the Coal-measure limestones commence, and the valley of 
the Missouri gradually becomes more restricted, though it is still of mod- 
erate width below the mouth of the Kansas. . 

The Yellowstone River is by far the largest branch of the Missouri, 
and for four hundred miles, from its mouth up, it seems to be as large as 



THE GREAT WEST. 39 

the Missouri itself from Fort Reno to Fort Union. It is navigable for 
steamers during the spring and early summer for three or four hundred 
miles above its junction with the Missouri. This river takes its rise in 
the main Divide of the Rocky Mountains, properly in the beautiful and 
now well-known Yellowstone Lake. Its channel is worn through rocks 
very similar to those of the Missouri and its brandies, the lower four hun- 
dred miles of its course being through the Lignitic beds for the most part. 
The character of its valley is very similar to that of the Missouri. It is 
now settled up by farmers almost continuously from the lower canon to 
its junction with the Missouri. 

Tongue and Powder Rivers, which are quite long branches, have their 
origin in the Big Horn Mountains, their channels cutting through the 
rocks that surround the Big Horn range. Tongue River is nearly one 
hundred and fifty miles in length, and flows for the most part through 
soft, yielding rocks of the Lignitic group. Powder River is from two 
hundred and fifty to three hundred miles in length, and also flows nearly 
all its course through the same Lignitic beds. 

Below the mouth of the Yellowstone River we observe on the right 
side of the Missouri River several large branches, as Little Missouri, Big 
Knife, Heart, Cannon Ball, Grand, Moreau, and Big Cheyenne. These 
streams are confined mostly to the plains, and often cease to be running 
streams in the dry season, except about their sources. 

The Teton River takes its origin in the north-western rim of the White 
River Tertiary Lake-Basin, and runs nearly east, for the most part through 
formations of Upper Cretaceous age. It drains an area about one hun- 
dred miles in length and thirty to fifty in breadth. 

The next most prominent stream is White River, which flows directly 
through the Bad Lands, and gives the name to one of the most remark- 
able Tertiary deposits in the world. (This interesting lake-basin will be 
referred to again farther on.) The river takes its rise in the plains near 
latitude 42|° and longitude 104°, flows for a time in a north-east direc- 
tion, then bends so as to enter the Missouri a little south of east near 
latitude 43° 41' and longitude 99 J°. Nearly its entire course lies through 
the AVhite River Tertiary beds, and for the greater part of the year its 
waters are so full of sediment as to be unfit for use. When the water 
stands for a time a thick scum accumulates on the surface, which has much 
the color and consistency of cream. The water itself looks very much like 
turbid lime-water, and is very astringent to the taste. The valley is gen- 
erally open, tolerably well wooded, abounding in fine grass, and has always 
been a favorite resort for the Indians. The road between Fort Reno on 



40 THE GREAT WEST. 

the Missouri River and Fort Laramie passes up the valley for a consider- 
able distance through some of the most picturesque scenery in the West. 
The river has numerous branches, but the only one of importance is called 
the South Fork, and is nearly as large and as long as the main stream. 
It drains an area about two hundred and fifty miles in length and forty 
to sixty in breadth. 

The Niobrara is the next most important stream, and is about four hun- 
dred and fifty miles in length. This also flows for the most part through 
the sands and clays of the Great Lake-Basin, of which the well-known 
" Bad Lands " form a conspicuous part. It is a beautiful stream of rather 
swift running water, generally ten to fifteen feet in width, but widening 
as it descends. There is much fertile land in this valley, possessing many 
attractions for the settler. It has always been a favorite camping-place 
for the various bands of Indians that roam over this region. 

The great sub-hydrographical basin, and perhaps in many respects the 
most important one in the Missouri Valley, is that of the Platte, which 
empties into the Missouri River near latitude 41° 3' 24". Its valley 
forms a natural grade for a railroad to the foot of the mountains, and 
already one has been constructed from Omaha City across the continent. 
The Platte River takes its rise in the Laramie range, and flows for the 
greater part of its course through the more recent beds of the Tertiary de- 
posits. The area drained by this river must be at least six hundred miles 
from west to east, and eighty to one hundred and fifty from north to south. 
Although this stream is one thousand yards or more in width, the water 
is so shallow and the channel so shifting that it can never be rendered 
navigable, even for small boats. In early days the fur-traders were never 
able to rely on it for the transportation of their peltries, furs, and skins. 

On the left or north side of the Missouri River there are comparatively 
few branches ; the principal of them are Milk, White Earth, James, Ver- 
milion, and Big Sioux. The three last named rise in the far north and 
flow through a much more rocky region and over a stonier bed, and their 
waters, as they pour into the Missouri, contain less sediment than any of 
the others. Indeed, most of the rivers previously described flow through 
a generally barren country, with a thirsty atmosphere and a still more 
thirsty soil, and on their way to the Missouri Valley they lose nearly 
or quite all their waters. Many of these long rivers, as Grand, Cannon 
Ball, and Cheyenne, in the autumn frequently have so little water as to 
cease to be running streams, while perhaps one hundred miles above their 
mouths, if in the vicinity of some mountain, there is a full supply of 
water. The Musselshell River is a fine example : toward its source it is 



THE GREAT WEST. 41 

a fine running stream ; in the dry season it is lost almost entirely before 
reaching the Missouri. Much more might be said in this connection, but 
enough has been given to enable the reader to comprehend to some extent 
the geographical area drained by the Missouri River and its tributaries. 

THE TERTIxVRY LAKE-BASINS OF THE WEST. 

We have frequently spoken in reference to the wonderful Tertiary lake- 
basins of the West. These were first made known on the eastern slope 
of the Rocky Mountains, and among the most wonderful is that of 
the Mauvaises Terres, or " Bad Lands," of Dakota. These lake-basins 
are found all over the West, from the Missouri River to the Pacific 
coast, and belong in age to various divisions of the Tertiary epoch. 
There is no water in them at this time, and their existence is only 
known to the student of geology. 

During the Tertiary period the Bad Lands Basin occupied an area of 
at least one hundred thousand, and very possibly one hundred and fifty 
thousand, square miles. It will thus be seen that our greatest northern 
lakes, of which we so proudly boast, are but ponds in comparison with 
some that once existed in this mountain-region. The close observer will 
notice at once that he is passing into a district, the rock-formations of 
which are quite different from any that he has seen before. He finds 
also that he is passing beyond the region of great fertility, luxuriant 
vegetation, fine farms, and fields of grain to a comparatively arid, 
sterile region ; still, the broad bottoms of the Platte are covered with 
a fair growth of grass, but the chances for the successful cultivation 
of crops of any of the cereals are very small. The soil becomes too 
thin, sandy, and arid for the growth of anything more than a scanty 
vegetation. 

Vie might linger here for a moment and inquire into some of the 
causes that have produced this scantiness of vegetation and almost entire 
absence of trees over so large an area. There is quite a remarkable belt 
or zone of country along the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains, ex- 
tending from the Arctic Sea far south to Mexico, upon which but a 
small amount of moisture ever falls. This has often been denominated 
the Great American Desert. In years past this belt was supposed to com- 
prise the greater portion of the area lying between the Missouri River 
and the foot of the mountains, but every year, as we know more and 
more of the country, this belt becomes narrower and narrower, and as a 
continuous area it has already ceased to exist, even in imagination. There 
are, however, large portions of the country that are comparatively worth- 



42 THE GREAT WEST. 

less and arid, which may be called barren or sterile. It is now pretty 
well understood that the cause of the absence of timber in this great 
region is want of moisture. A very clear explanation of this subject, 
and one which seems in accordance with the facts, is given by Professor 
Dana in Silliman's Journal (vol. xl., page 393). If we were to examine 
a rain-chart, we should find that where the forests are most luxuriant, as 
along the Atlantic coast in the southern portion of the Mississippi Valley, 
the greatest amount of rain falls annually — say fifty to sixty-five inches ; 
and as soon as we approach any of the interior basins of the Western 
continent, or any portion of this dry belt, we observe that the amount of 
moisture diminishes to thirty, twenty, fifteen, ten, and in some cases to as 
low as five inches, annually. Again, along the Missouri River, where 
the vegetation is quite extensive and the forest trees abundant, we have 
twenty to thirty inches of rain, but as soon as we pass to the westward 
three hundred miles we have but ten or fifteen inches. On the Pacific 
coast of Oregon and Washington, whose gigantic forests are celebrated 
all over the world, we find that from fifty-five to sixty-five inches of rain 
fall annually. We might multiply these illustrations, but the evidence 
seems to be conclusive. 

There is another point that may be worthy of note here, and that is 
the prevailing impression among all the inhabitants of the West of a 
gradual change of climate by settlement and the cultivation of the soil. 
It is a fact that over a width of one hundred miles or more along the 
Missouri River the little groves of timber are extending their area, that 
springs of water are continually issuing from the ground where none 
were ever known before, and that the distribution of rain throughout 
the year is more equable. Such being the case, time may work import- 
ant changes, and settlements may at some period cause a large portion 
of that belt which has hitherto been regarded as given up to sterility to 
become of value for the abode of man. 

The valleys of the Loup Fork and the Niobrara Rivers, although 
largely uninhabitable, are full of interest to the geologist. Located 
along these rivers is one of those grand cemeteries of extinct animals 
which have excited the wonder of intelligent men all over the world. 
Farther to the north-west, on White Earth River, is another of these 
far-famed bone-deposits. These two interesting localities bear such a 
relation to each other in the order of time and the relationship of the 
animals preserved in them that they should be described in the same 
connection. I will therefore take the reader at once to the valley of 
White Earth River, near the south-western base of the Black Hills, and 



THE GREAT WEST. 43 

there we shall behold one of the wildest regions on this continent. It 
has always gone by the name of " Bad Lands ;" by the Canadian French 
known as Mauvaiscs Terres ; in the Dakota tongue, Ma-hoo-si-tcha. 
These words signify a very difficult country to travel through, not only 
from the rnggedness of the surface, but also from the absence of any 
good water and the small supply of wood and game. In the summer 
the sun pours its rays on the bare white walls, which are reflected on the 
weary traveller with double intensity, not only oppressing him with the 
heat, but so dazzling his eyes that he is not unfrequently affected with 
temporary blindness. I have spent many days exploring this region 
when the thermometer was 112° in the shade and there was no water 
suitable for drinking purposes within fifteen miles. But it is only to 
the geologist that this place can have any permanent attractions. He 
can wind his way through the wonderful canons among some of the 
grandest ruins in the world. Indeed, it resembles a gigantic city fallen 
to decay. Domes, towers, minarets, and spires may be seen on every 
side, which assume a great variety of shapes when viewed in the distance. 
Not unfrequently, the rising or the setting sun will light up these grand 
old ruins with a wild, strange beauty, reminding one of a city illumi- 
nated in the night when seen from some high point. The harder layers 
project from the sides of the valley or canon with such regularity that 
they appear like seats, one above the other, of some vast amphitheatre. 

THE FOSSIL TREASURES OF THE LAKE-BASINS. 

It is at the foot of these apparent architectural ruins that the curious 
fossil treasures are found. In the oldest beds we find the teeth and 
jaws of a hyopotamus, a river-horse much like the hippopotamus, who 
must have sported in his pride in the marshes that bordered this lake. 
So, too, the titanothcrium, a gigantic pachyderm, was associated with a 
species of hornless rhinoceros. These huge rhinoceroid animals appear 
at first to have monopolized this entire region, and the plastic, sticky 
clay of the lowest bed of this basin, in which the remains were found, 
seems to have formed a suitable bottom to the lake in which these thick- 
skinned monsters could wallow at pleasure. As we pass higher up in 
the sediments, we find the remains of a great variety of land animals 
mingled with those that were aquatic in their nature. In a bed of fksh- 
colored marl which is visible for a great distance, like a broad band in 
the sides of these washed hills, thousands of turtles were imbedded, and 
are preserved to the present time with surprising perfection, the hard 
portions of them being as complete as when they were swimming about 



44 THE GREAT WEST. 

iu these Tertiary waters hundreds of thousands of years ago. They 
vary in size from an inch or two across the back to three or four feet. 
But one species has ever been discovered in this basin, and so far as we 
know these reptiles made up in numbers what they lacked in variety. 
Associated with the remains of the turtles are those of a number of 
ruminants, all belonging to extinct genera, and possessing peculiar cha- 
racters which ally them to the deer and the hog. Indeed, Dr. Leidy 
calls them ruminating hogs. Like the domestic species, they were pro- 
vided with cutting teeth and canines, but the grinding teeth are con- 
structed after the same pattern as those of all living ruminants. The 
feet of these animals were also provided with four toes as in the hog, 
and none of them possessed horns or antlers. They appear to have 
existed in immense numbers, and to have lived in great herds like the 
bisons of the West. Remains of more than seven hundred individuals 
of one species have been already studied and described by Dr. Leidy. 
Their enemies were numerous — wolves, hyasnodons, and sabre-tooth tigers. 
. If we pass for a moment southward into the valleys of the Niobrara 
and Loup Fork, we shall find a fauna closely allied, yet entirely distinct 
from the one on White River, and plainly intermediate between that of 
the latter and of the present period ; one appears to have lived during 
the Middle or Miocene Tertiary period, and the other at a later time, in 
what is called the Pliocene. In the later fauna were the remains of a 
number of species of extinct camels, one of which was of the size of the 
Arabian camel, a second about two-thirds as large ; also a smaller one. 
The only animals akin to the camels at the present time in the Western 
hemisphere are the llama and its allies in South America. Not less in- 
teresting are the remains of a great variety of forms of the horse family, 
one of which was about as large as the ordinary domestic animal, and 
the smallest not more than two or two and a half feet in height, with 
every intermediate grade in size. There was still another animal allied 
to the horse, about the size of a Newfoundland dog, which was provided 
with three hoofs to each foot, though the lateral hoofs were rudimental. 
Although no horses were known to exist on this continent prior to its 
discovery by Europeans, yet Dr. Leidy has shown that before the age of 
man this was emphatically the country of horses. Dr. Leidy has re- 
ported twenty-seven species of the horse family which are known to have 
lived on this continent prior to the advent of man — about three times 
as many as are now found living throughout the world. 

Among the carnivores were several foxes and wolves, one of which was 
larger than any now living ; three species of hysenodon — animals whose 



THE GREAT WEST. 45 

teeth indicate that they were of remarkably rapacious habits ; also five 
animals of the cat tribe were found, one about the size of a small panther 
and another as large as the largest wolf. Several of the skulls of the 
tiger-like animals exhibited the marks of terrible conflicts with the con- 
temporary hysenodons. 

Among the rodents were a porcupine, small beaver, rabbit, mouse, etc. 

The pachyderms, or thick-skinned animals, were quite numerous and 
of great interest, from the fact that none of them are living on this 
continent at the present time, and yet here we find the remains of sev- 
eral animals allied to the domestic hog — one about the size'of this animaL, 
another as large as the African hippopotamus, and a third not much 
larger than the domestic cat. 

Five species of the rhinoceros roamed through these marshes, ranging 
from a small, hornless species, about the size of our black bear, to the 
largest, which was about the size of the existing unicorn of India. No 
animals of the kind now inhabit the Western hemisphere. 

Among the thick-skinned animals were the remains of a mastodon 
and a large elephant, distinct from any others heretofore discovered in 
any part of the world. Dr. Leidy says that "it is remarkable that 
among the remains of mammals and turtles there are none of crocodiles. 
Where were these creatures when the shores of the ancient Dakotan 
and Nebraskan waters teemed with such an abundant provision of sa- 
vory ruminating hogs ?" During the Tertiary period Nebraska and 
Dakota were the homes of a race of animals more closely allied to those 
inhabiting Asia and Africa now, and from their character we may sup- 
pose that during that period the climate was considerably warmer than 
it is at present. The inference is also drawn that our world, which is 
usually called the New, is in reality the Old World, older than the East- 
ern hemisphere. 

THE PRE-HISTORIC GEOGRAPHY OF THE LAKE-BASINS. 

Ever since the commencement of creation constant changes of form 
have been going on in our earth. Oceans and mountains have disap- 
peared, and others have taken their place. Entire groups of animal and 
vegetable life have passed away, and new forms have come into exist- 
ence through a series of years which no finite mind can number. To 
enable the mind to realize the physical condition of our planet during all 
these past ages is the highest end to be attained by the study of geological 
facts. It has been well said by an eloquent historian that he who calls 
the past back again into being enjoys a bliss like that of creating. 



46 THE GREAT WEST. 

We may attempt to form some idea of the physical geography of this 
region at the time when these animals wandered over the country, and 
to speculate as to the manner in which their remains have been so beau- 
tifully preserved for our examination. We may suppose that here was 
a large fresh-water lake during the Middle Tertiary period ; that it began 
near the south-eastern side of the Black Hills, not large at first, nor deep, 
but as a marsh or mud-wallow for the gigantic pachyderms that lived 
at the time — that as time passed on it became deeper and expanded its 
limits until it covered the vast area which its sediments indicate. We 
cannot attempt to point out in detail all the changes through which we 
may suppose, from the facts given us, this lake has passed during the 
thousands of years that elapsed from its beginning to its extinction — time 
long enough for two distinct faunae to have commenced their existence 
and passed away in succession, not a single species passing from one 
into the other. Even that small fraction of geological time seems in- 
finite to a finite mind. We believe that the great range of mountains 
that now lies to the west of this basin was not as lofty as now — that 
doubtless the treeless plains were covered with forests or grassy meadows 
upon which the vast herds of gregarious ruminants cropped their food. 
Into this great lake on every side poured many little streams from broad 
valleys, fine ranging-ground for the numerous varieties of creatures 
that existed at that time. Large numbers of fierce carnivorous beasts 
mingled with the multitudes of gregarious ruminants, constantly devour- 
ing them as food. As many of the bones, either through death by vio- 
lence or natural causes, were left in the valleys, they would be swept 
down by the first high waters into the lake and enveloped in the sedi- 
ments at the bottom. As the gregarious ruminants came down to the 
little streams or by the shores of the lake to quench their thirst, they 
would be pounced upon by the flesh-loving hysenodon, drepanodon, or 
dinictis. It was probably near this place also that these animals would 
meet in fierce conflicts, the evidences of which remain to the present 
time in the cavities which the skulls reveal ; one of these, of a huge 
cat, shows on either side the holes through the bony covering which 
had partially healed before the animal perished, and the cavities seem 
to correspond in form and position with the teeth of the largest hy- 
senodon. 

The remains of those animals which, from their very nature, could not 
have existed in great numbers, are not abundant in the fossil state, 
while those of the ruminants occur in the greatest abundance and are 
widely diffused in the sediments, not only geographically, but vertically. 



THE GREAT WEST. 47 

The chances for the preservation of the remains of a species seem to 
depend upon the number of individuals that existed. The remains of 
ruminants already obtained comprise at least nine-tenths of the entire 
collection, while of one species portions of at least seven hundred indi- 
viduals have been discovered. We might take examples from the ani- 
mals that exist in this region at the present time that would illustrate 
the point. The wolves watch the deer, antelope, and other feebler ani- 
mals as they go down to the little streams for water, and all over the 
wide bottoms their skeletons are distributed in a more or less perfect 
condition. Whenever a bison becomes too feeble by disease or age to 
offer a successful resistance, the wolves soon despatch him and his bones 
are left bleaching on the ground. In most cases these animals when 
pursued betake themselves to the water, where they are not unfrequent- 
ly drowned or despatched on a sand-bar or island. Annually, thousands 
of buffaloes, in attempting to cross the Missouri River and some of its 
large tributaries on the ice as it is breaking up in the spring, are 
drowned. For many days their bodies are seen floating down the river 
by Fort Union or Fort Clark, and, lodging on some of the islands or 
sand-bars, fill the air with the stench of their decay. In the spring of 
1857 thousands of their bodies floated down the Kansas River past Fort 
Riley, and were carried into the Missouri River. These animals are 
often mired in the marshes or the muddy shores of lakes or streams in 
great numbers. We know what vast numbers of the mastodon have 
been preserved in the Big Bone Licks of Kentucky, and of the Irish elk 
in the bogs of Ireland. We might instance hundreds of examples to 
show how easily these animals, roaming and feeding along the numerous 
streams flowing into some great lake, could be transported in part or 
entire into the lake, and sinking to the bottom would be enveloped in 
the muddy sediments. 

There is another interesting feature in regard to these remarkable 
fossils, and that is the beauty and perfection of their preservation ; the 
bones are so clean and white and the teeth so perfect that, when ex- 
posed upon the surface, they present the appearance of having bleached 
only for a season. They could not have been transported from a great 
distance, neither could the waters have been swift and turbulent, for 
the bones seldom show any signs of having been water-worn, and the 
nice sharp points and angles are as perfect as in life. I have dwelt thus 
long on the details of this great lake-basin not only on account of the 
universal interest that invests it, and the wonderful treasures of the past 
which it has revealed to the world, but because its history is applicable 



48 THE GREAT WEST. 

in the main to the numbers of the other fresh-water lake-basins of the 
geological past which are distributed throughout the Rocky Mountain 
region. 

Before leaving this subject there is another interesting topic of in- 
quiry — why such a beautiful series of vertebrate remains should be so 
perfectly preserved in this lake-deposit, and yet the remains of other 
forms of animal and vegetable life be almost entirely absent. The sedi- 
ments seem to be peculiarly adapted to the preservation of a full series 
of documents bearing upon the history of those times. And yet in the 
older beds, where the mammalian remains are most, abundant, only one 
small species of snail, a land-shell, is found preserved. Where is the 
evidence of the swarms of fishes that must have filled the streams and 
lakes of that time ? Of the vegetable life, if any existed, only now and 
then a fragment of silicified wood is found, and that, too, in the latest 
deposits. I am prepared to believe that the broad plains were, even at 
the time of the existence of these animals, as treeless as at present, yet I 
am quite unprepared to explain the almost entire absence of vegetable 
remains. We know that fresh-water shells, much like those existing in 
the little clear streams of the present time, as well as some remains of 
fishes, are found in some limestones on the summits of hills near Pinos 
Spring on the northern rim of the lake. 

Another interesting question occurs to me in this connection : How was 
it that a complete fauna, comprising more than forty species of animals, 
was introduced upon the earth, lived through its legitimate period, entirely 
perished or was swept out of existence, and an entirely new fauna, com- 
prising about the same number and variety, was again introduced in the 
same region ? It too lived out its period of existence, which must have 
been hundreds of thousands of years, and yet every one of this group of 
animals disappeared from the globe, leaving nothing behind to tell the 
tale but fragments of their bony skeletons accidentally enveloped in the 
sediment at the bottom of an estuary or lake. 

It will be seen at a glance that this is a fruitful topic for speculation, 
and I leave it with the reader. Some of the species of animals found in 
the latest deposits seem to have lived very nearly up to our present period. 
The horns of a deer and the bones of a sand-hill crane have such a modern 
aspect that the thought arises, Where was man when these animals were 
roaming over this region ? Recent investigations show quite conclusively 
that man was an inhabitant of Europe contemporaneously with many of 
the extinct animals of the Quaternary period, but it is doubtful whether 
we have ever found any evidence that he lived at a very remote period 



THE GREAT WEST. 49 

on this continent. Indeed, so far as we know at present, the "West is 
singularly silent as to the existence of man in what are now understood 
as pre-historic times. 

NORTH AMERICA IN THE TERTIARY AGE. 

The following picture of North America during the Tertiary age is 
drawn by Professor Newberry in Hay den's Annual Report for 1870: 

" Then a warm and genial climate prevailed from the Gulf to the Arctic 
Sea ; the Canadian highlands were higher, but the Rocky Mountains lower 
and less broad. Most of the continent exhibited an undulating surface — 
rounded hills and broad valleys covered with forests grander than any of 
the present day, or wide expanses of rich savannah, over which roamed 
countless herds of animals, many of gigantic size, of which our present 
meagre fauna retains but a few dwarfed representatives. Noble rivers 
flowed through plains and valleys, and sea-like lakes, broader and more 
numerous than those the continent now bears, diversified the scenery. 
Through unnumbered ages the seasons ran their ceaseless course, the sun 
rose and set, moons waxed and waned over this fair land, but no human 
eye was there to mark its beauty nor human intellect to control and use 
its exuberant fertility. Flowers opened their many-colored petals on 
meadow and hillside, and filled the air with their perfumes, but only for 
the delectation of the wandering bee. Fruits ripened in the sun, but 
there was no hand there to pluck nor any speaking tongue to taste. Birds 
sang in the trees, but for no ears but their own. The surface of lake or 
river was whitened by no sail, nor furrowed by any prow but the breast 
of the water-fowl ; and the far-reaching shores echoed no sound but the 
dash of the waves and the lowing of the herds that slaked their thirst in 
the crystal waters. 

" Life and beauty were everywhere, and man, the great destroyer, had 
not yet come ; but not all was peace and harmony in this Arcadia. The 
forces of Nature are always at war, and redundant life compels abundant 
death. The innumerable species of animals and plants had each its he- 
reditary enemy, and the struggle of life was so sharp and bitter that in 
the lapse of ages many genera and species were blotted out for ever. 

" The herds of herbivores — which included all the genera now living 
on the earth's surface, with many strange forms long since extinct — formed 
the prey of carnivores commensurate to these in power and numbers. The 
coo of the dove and the whistle of the quail were answered by the scream 
of the eagle, and the lowing of herds and the bleating of flocks come to 
the ear of the imagination mingled with the roar of the lion, the howl of 

4 



50 THE GREAT WEST. 

the wolf, and the despairing cry of the victim. Yielding to the slow- 
acting but irresistible forces of Nature, each in succession of these various 
animal forms has disappeared, till all have passed away or been changed 
to their modern representatives, while the country they inhabited, by the 
upheaval of its mountains, the deepening of its valleys, the filling and 
draining of its great lakes, has become what it is." 

ANCIENT LIFE IN THE FAR WEST DURING THE CRETACEOUS EPOCH. 

In the following sketch the ancient life in the far West during the 
Cretaceous period has been most eloquently described by the eminent 
palaeontologist, Prof. E. D. Cope, in the Annual Report of the Geological 
Survey of the Territories for 1871 : 

" That vast level tract of our territory lying between Missouri and the 
Rocky Mountains represents a condition of the earth's surface which has 
preceded, in most instances, the mountainous or hilly type so prevalent 
elsewhere, and may be called, in so far, incompletely developed. It does 
not present the variety of conditions, either of surface for the support of 
a very varied life or of opportunities for access to its interior treasures, so 
beneficial to a high civilization. It is, in fact, the old bed of seas and 
lakes, which has been so gradually elevated as to have suffered little dis- 
turbance. Consistently with its level surface, its soils have not been 
carried away by rain and flood, but rather cover it with a deep and 
widespread mantle. This is the great source of its wealth in Nature's 
creations of vegetable and animal life, and from it will be drawn the 
wealth of its future inhabitants. On this account its products have a 
character of uniformity ; but viewed from the standpoint of the political 
philosopher, so long as peace and steam bind the natural sections of our 
country together, so long will the plains be one important element in a 
varied economy of continental extent. But they are not entirely unin- 
terrupted. The natural drainage has worn channels, and the streams flow 
below the general level. The ancient sea- and lake-deposits have neither 
been pressed into very hard rock beneath piles of later sediment, nor have 
they been roasted and crystallized by internal heat. Although limestone 
rock, they easily yield to the action of water, and so the side-drainage into 
the creeks and rivers has removed their high banks from many rods to 
many miles from their original positions. In many cases these banks or 
bluffs have retained their original steepness, and have increased in eleva- 
tion as the breaking down of the rock encroached on higher land. In 
other cases the rain-channels have cut in without removing the interven- 
ing rocks at once, and formed deep gorges or canons, -which sometimes 



THE GREAT WEST. 51 

extend to great distances. They frequently communicate in every direc- 
tion, forming curious labyrinths, and when the intervening masses are 
cut away at various levels or left standing like monuments, we have the 
characteristic peculiarities of ' bad lands,' or mauvaises terres. 

" In portions of Kansas tracts of this kind are scattered over the coun- 
try along the margins of the river and creek valleys and ravines. The 
upper stratum of the rock is a yellow chalk, the lower bluish, and the 
brilliancy of the color increases the picturesque effect. From elevated 
points the plains appear to be dotted with ruined villages and towns, 
whose avenues are lined with painted walls of fortifications, churches, 
and towers, while side-alleys pass beneath natural bridges or expand into 
small pockets and caverns, smoothed by the action of the wind carrying 
hard mineral particles. But this is the least interesting of the peculiar- 
ities presented by these rocks. On the level surfaces, denuded of soil, lie 
huge oyster-like shells, some opened and others with both valves together, 
like remnants of a half-finished meal of some titanic race which had been 
frightened from the board never to return. These shells are not thick- 
ened like most of those of past periods, but contained an animal which 
would have served as a meal for a large party of men. One of them 
measured twenty-six inches across. 

" If the explorer searches the bottoms of the rain-washes and ravines, 
he will doubtless come upon the fragment of a tooth or jaw, and will 
generally find a line of such pieces leading to an elevated position on 
the bank or bluff, where lies the skeleton of some monster of the ancient 
sea. He may find the vertebral column running far into the limestone 
that locks him in his "last prison ; or a paddle extended on the slope, as 
though entreating aid ; or a pair of jaws lined with horrid teeth, which 
grin despair on enemies they are helpless to resist; or he may find a 
conic mound on whose apex glisten in the sun the bleached bones of one 
whose last office has been to preserve from destruction the friendly soil 
on which he reposed. Sometimes a pile of huge remains will be discov- 
ered, which the dissolution of the rock has deposited on the lower 
level, the force of rain and wash having been insufficient to carry them 
away. 

" But the reader inquires, What is the nature of these creatures thus left 
stranded a thousand miles from either ocean ? How came they in the 
limestones of Kansas, and were they denizens of land or sea ? It may 
be replied that our knowledge of this chapter of ancient history is only 
about five years old, and has been brought to light by geological explora- 
tions set on foot by Dr. Turner, Professor Mudge, Professor Marsh, 



52 THE GREAT WEST. 

W. E. Webb, and the writer. Careful examinations of the remains dis- 
covered show that they are nearly all to be referred to the reptiles and 
fishes. We find that they lived in the period called Cretaceous, at the 
time when the chalk of England and the green-sand marl of New Jer- 
sey were being deposited, and when many other huge reptiles and fishes 
peopled both sea and land in those quarters of the globe. The twenty- 
four species of reptiles found in Kansas up to the present time varied 
from ten to eighty feet in length, and represented six orders, the same 
that occur in the other regions mentioned. Two only of the number 
were terrestrial in their habits, and two were flyers ; the remainder were 
inhabitants of the salt ocean. When they swam over what are now the 
plains, the coast-line extended from Arkansas to near Fort Riley on the 
Kansas River, and, passing a little eastward, traversed Minnesota to the 
British possessions, near the head of Lake Superior. The extent of sea 
to the westward was vast, and geology has not yet laid down its bound- 
ary ; it was probably a shore now submerged beneath the waters of the 
North Pacific Ocean. 

" Far out on this expanse might have been seen in those ancient days 
a huge, snake-like form which rose above the surface and stood erect, 
with tapering throat and arrow-shaped head, or swayed about, describing 
a circle of twenty feet radius above the water. Then it would dive into 
the depths, and naught would be visible but the foam caused by the dis- 
appearing mass of life. Should several have appeared together, we can 
easily imagine tall, twining forms rising to the height of the masts of a 
fishing-fleet, or like snakes twisting and knotting themselves together. 
This extraordinary neck — for such it was — rose from a body of elephan- 
tine proportions, and a tail of the serpent-pattern balanced it behind. 
The limbs were probably two pairs of paddles like those of Plesiosaurus, 
from which this diver chiefly differed in the arrangement of the bones of 
the breast. In the best-known species twenty-two feet represent the neck 
in a total length of fifty feet. 

" This is the Elasmosaurus platyurus (Cope), a carnivorous sea-reptile, 
no doubt adapted for deeper waters than many of the others. Like the 
snake-bird of Florida, it probably often swam many feet below the sur- 
face, raising the head to the distant air for a breath, then withdrawing it 
and exploring the depths forty feet below, without altering the position 
of its body. From the localities in which the bones have been found in 
Kansas, it must have wandered far from land, and that many kinds of 
fishes formed its food is shown by the teeth and scales found in the posi- 
tion of its stomach. 



THE GREAT WEST. 53 

" A second species of somewhat similar character and habits differed 
very much in some points of structure. The neck was drawn out to a 
wonderful degree of attenuation, while the tail was relatively very stout 
— more so, indeed, than in the Elasmosaurus — as though to balance the 
anterior regions while occupied in various actions ; e. g., while capturing 
its food. This was a powerful swimmer, its paddles measuring four feet 
in length, with an expanse therefore of about eleven feet. It is known 
as Polycotylus latipinnis (Cope). 

"The two species just described formed a small representation in our 
great interior sea of an order which swarmed, at the same time or near 
it, over the gulfs and bays of old Europe. There they abounded twenty 
to one. Perhaps one reason for this was the almost entire absence of the 
real rulers of the waters of ancient America — viz. the Pythonomorphs. 
These sea-serpents — for such they were — embrace more than half the 
species found in the limestone rocks in Kansas', and abound in those of 
New Jersey and Alabama. Only four have been seen as yet in Europe. 

" Researches into their structure have shown that they were of won- 
derful elongation of form, especially of tail ; that their heads were large, 
flat,, and conic, with eyes directed partly upward ; that they were fur- 
nished with two pairs of paddles like the flippers of a whale, but with 
short or no portion representing the arm. With these flippers and the 
ell-like strokes of their flattened tail they swam, some with less, others 
with greater speed. They were furnished, like snakes, with four rows of 
formidable teeth on the roof of the mouth. Though these were not 
designed for mastication, and, without paws for grasping, could have 
been little used for cutting, as weapons for seizing their prey they were 
very formidable. And here we have to consider a peculiarity of these 
creatures in which they are unique among animals. Swallowing their 
prey entire like snakes, they were without that wonderful expansibility 
of throat due in the latter to an arrangement of levers supporting the 
lower jaw. Instead of this, each half of that jaw was articulated or 
jointed at a point nearly midway between the ear and the chin. This 
was of the ball-and-socket type, and enabled the jaw to make an angle 
outward, and so widen by much the space enclosed between it and its 
fellow. The arrangement may be easily imitated by directing the arms 
forward, with the elbows turned outward and the hands placed near 
together. The ends of these bones were in the Pythonomorpha as inde- 
pendent as in the serpents, being only bound by flexible ligaments. By 
turning the elbows outward and bending them, the space between the 
arms becomes diamond-shaped, and represents exactly the expansion 



54 THE GREAT WEST. 

seen in these reptiles to permit the passage of a large fish or other body. 
The arms, too, will represent the size of jaws attained by some of the 
smaller species. The outward movement of the basal half of the jaw 
necessarily twists in the same direction the column-like bone to which 
it is suspended. The peculiar shape of the joint by which the last bone 
is attached to the skull depends on the degree of twist to be permitted, 
and therefore to the degree of expansion of which the jaws were capable. 
As this differs much in the different species, they are readily distinguish- 
ed by the column or 'quadrate' bone when found. There are some 
curious consequences of this structure, and they are here explained as 
an instance of the mode of reconstruction of extinct animals from slight 
materials. The habit of swallowing large bodies between the branches ' 
of the under jaw necessitates the prolongation forward of the mouth of 
the gullet ; hence the throat in the Pythonomorpha must have been loose 
and almost as baggy as a pelican's. Next, the same habit must have 
compelled the forward position of the glottis or opening of the wind- 
pipe, which is always in front of the gullet. Hence these creatures must 
have uttered no other sound than a hiss, as do animals of the present 
day which have a similar structure ; as, for instance, the snakes. Third- 
ly, the tongue must have been long and forked, and for this reason : its 
position was still anterior to the glottis, so that there was no space for it 
except it were enclosed in a sheath beneath the windpipe when at rest, 
or thrown out beyond the jaws when in motion. Such is the arrange- 
ment in the nearest living forms, and it is always in these cases cylindric 
and forked. 

" The giants of the Pythonomorpha of Kansas have been called Liodon 
proriger (Cope) and Liodon dyspelor (Cope). The first must have been 
abundant, and its length could not have been far from fifty feet ; certainly 
not less. Its physiognomy was rendered peculiar by a long projecting 
muzzle, reminding one of that of the blunt-nosed sturgeon of our coast ; 
but the resemblance was destroyed by the correspondingly massive end 
of the branches of the lower jaw. Though clumsy in appearance, such 
an arrangement must have been effective as a ram, and dangerous to 
its enemies in case of collision. The writer once found the wreck of 
an individual of this species strewn around a sunny knoll beside a bluff, 
and his conic snout pointing to the heavens formed a fitting monument, 
as at once his favorite weapon and the mark distinguishing all his race. 

" Very different was the Liodon dyspelor, a still larger animal than the 
last, with a formidable armature. It was, indeed, the longest of known 
reptiles, and probably equal to the great finner-whales of modern oceans. 



THE GREAT WEST. 55 

The circumstances attending the discovery of one of these will always 
be a pleasant recollection to the writer. A part of the face, with teeth, 
was observed projecting from the side of a bluff by a companion in ex- 
ploration, Lieutenant James H. Whitten, United States army, and we at 
once proceeded to follow up the indication with knives and picks. Soon 
the lower jaws were uncovered, with their glistening teeth, and then the 
vertebrae and ribs. Our delight was at its height when the bones of the 
pelvis and part of the hind limb were laid bare, for they had never been 
seen before in the species and scarcely in the order. While lying on the 
bottom of the Cretaceous sea the carcass had been dragged hither and 
thither by the sharks and other rapacious animals, and the parts of the 
skeleton Avere displaced and gathered into a small area. The massive tail 
stretched away into the bluff, and after much laborious excavation we left 
a portion of it to more persevering explorers. 

" The species of Clidastes did not reach such a size as some of the 
Lioclons, and were of elegant and flexible build. To prevent their habits 
of coiling from dislocating the vertebral column, these had an additional 
pair of articulations at each end, while their muscular strength is attested 
by the elegant stria? and other sculptures which appear on all their bones. 
Five species of this genus occur in the Kansas strata, the largest (Cli- 
dastes cineriarum, Cope) reaching forty feet in length. The discovery of 
a related species (Holcodus coryphceus, Cope) was made by the writer 
under circumstances of difficulty peculiar to the plains. After examining 
the bluffs for half a day without result, a few bone fragments were found 
in a wash above their base. Others led the way to a ledge forty or fifty 
feet from both summit and foot, where, stretched along in the yellow 
chalk, lay the projecting portions of the whole monster. A considerable 
number of vertebra? were found preserved by the protective embrace of 
the roots of a small bush, and when they were secured the pick and knife 
were brought into requisition to remove the remainder. About this time 
one of the gales so common in that region sprang up, and, striking the 
bluff fairly, reflected itself upward. So soon as the pick pulverized the 
rock, the limestone dust was carried into eyes, nose, and every available 
opening in the clothing. I was speedily blinded, and my aid disappeared 
in the cafion, and was seen no more while the work lasted. Only the 
enthusiasm of the student could have endured the discomfort, but to him 
it appeared a most unnecessary ' conversion of force ' that a geologist 
should be driven from the field by his own dust. A handkerchief tied 
over the face, and pierced by minute holes opposite the eyes, kept me from 
total blindness, though dirt in abundance penetrated the mask. But a 



56 THE GREAT WEST. 

fine relic of creative genius was extricated from its ancient bed, and one 
that leads its genus in size and explains its structure. 

" On another occasion, riding along a spur of yellow-chalk bluif, some 
vertebra? lying at its foot met my eye. An examination showed that 
the series entered the rock, and, on passing round to the opposite side, 
the jaws and muzzle were seen projecting from it, as though laid bare 
for the convenience of the geologist. The spur was small and of soft 
material, and we speedily removed it in blocks to the level of the rep- 
tile, and took out the remains as they lay across the base from side to 
side. 

" A genus related to the last is Edestosaurus. A species of thirty feet 
in length, and of elegant proportions, has been called E. tortor (Cope). 
Its slenderness of body was remarkable, and the large head was long 
and lance-shaped. Its flippers tapered elegantly, and the whole ani- 
mal was more of serpent than any other of its tribe. Its lithe move- 
ments brought many a fish to its knife-shaped teeth, which are more 
efficient and numerous than in any of its relatives. It was found coiled 
up beneath a ledge of rock, with its skull lying undisturbed in the centre. 
A species distinguished for its small size and elegance is Clldastes pumilus 
(Marsh)'. This little fellow was only twelve feet in length, and was prob- 
ably unable to avoid occasionally furnishing a meal for some of the rapa- 
cious fishes which abounded in the same ocean. 

" The flying saurians are pretty well known from the descriptions of 
European authors. Our Mesozoic periods had been thought to have lacked 
these singular forms until Professor Marsh and the writer discovered re- 
mains of species in the Kansas chalk. Though these are not numerous, 
their size was formidable. One of them, Ornitliochirus harpyia (Cope) 
spread eighteen feet between the tips of its wings, while the 0. umbrosus 
(Cope) covered nearly twenty-five feet with his expanse. These strange 
creatures flapped their leathery wings over the waves, and, often plunging, 
seized many an unsuspecting fish, or, soaring at a safe distance, viewed 
the sports and combats of the more powerful saurians of the sea. At 
nightfall we may imagine them trooping to the shore and suspending 
themselves to the cliffs by the claw-bearing fingers of their wing-limbs. 

" Tortoises were the boatmen of the Cretaceous waters of the Eastern 
coast, but none had been known from the deposits of Kansas until very 
recently. But two species are on record ; one, large and strange enough 
to excite the attention of naturalists, is the Protostega gigas (Cope). It is 
well known that the house or boat of the tortoise or turtle is formed by 
the expansion of the usual bones of the skeleton till they meet and unite, 



THE GREAT WEST. 57 

and thus become continuous. Thus the lower shell is formed of united 
ribs of the breast and of the breast-bone, with bone deposited in the skin. 
In the same way the roof is formed by the union of the ribs with bone 
deposited in the skin. In the very young tortoise the ribs are separate, as 
in other animals ; as they grow older they begin to expand at the upper 
side of the upper end, and with increased age the expansion extends 
throughout the length. The ribs first come in contact where the process 
commences, and in the land-tortoise they are united to the end. In the 
sea-turtle the union ceases a little above the ends. The fragments of the 
Protostega were seen by one of my party projecting from the ledge of a low 
bluif. Their thinness and the distance to which they were traced excited 
my curiosity, and I straightway attacked the bank with the pick. After 
several square feet of rock had been removed, we cleared up one floor, and 
found ourselves well repaid. Many long, slender pieces of two inches in 
width lay upon the ledge. They were evidently ribs with the usual heads, 
but behind each head was a plate like the flattened bowl of a huge spoon, 
placed crosswise. Beneath these stretched two broad plates, two feet in 
width and no thicker than binder's board. The edges were fingered, and 
the surface hard and smooth. All this was quite new among full-grown 
animals, and we at once determined that more ground must be explored 
for further light. After picking away the bank and carving the soft rock, 
new masses of strange bones were disclosed. Some bones of a large paddle 
were recognized, and a leg-bone. The shoulder-blade of a huge tortoise 
came next, and further examination showed that we had stumbled on the 
burial-place of the largest species of sea-turtle yet known. The single 
bones of the paddle were eight inches long, giving the spread of the ex- 
panded flippers as considerably over fifteen feet. But the ribs were those 
of an ordinary turtle just born, and the great plates represented the bony 
deposit in the skin, which, commencing independently in modern turtles, 
unite with each other below at an early day. But it was incredible that 
the largest of known turtles should be but just hatched, and for this and 
other reasons it has been concluded that this ' ancient mariner ' is one of 
those forms not uncommon in old days, whose incompleteness in some 
respects points to the truth of the belief that animals have assumed their 
modern perfections by a process of growth from more simple beginnings. 

" The Cretaceous ocean of the West was no less remarkable for its fishes 
than for its reptiles. Sharks do not seem to have been so common as in 
the old Atlantic, but it swarmed with large predaceous forms related to 
the salmon and saury. 

" Vertebra and other fragments of these species project from the worn 



58 THE GREAT WEST. 

limestone in many places. I will call attention to perhaps the most for- 
midable as well as the most abundant of these. It is the one whose bones 
most frequently crowned knobs of shale which had been left standing amid 
surrounding destruction. The density and hardness of the bones shed the 
rain oif on either side, so that the radiating gutters and ravines finally 
isolated the rock-mass from that surrounding. The head was as long as, or 
longer than, that of a fully -grown grizzly bear, and the jaws were deeper 
in proportion to their length. The muzzle was shorter and deeper than 
that of a bull-dog. The teeth were all sharp cylindric fangs, smooth and 
glistening, and of irregular size. At certain distances in each jaw they 
projected three inches above the gum, and were sunk one inch into the 
jaw-margin, being thus as long as the fangs of a tiger, but more slender. 
Two such fangs crossed each other on each side of the middle of the front. 
This fish is known as JPortkeus molossus (Cope). Besides the smaller 
fishes, the reptiles no doubt supplied the demands of his appetite. 

" The ocean in which flourished this abundant and vigorous life was at 
last completely enclosed on the west by elevations of sea-bottom, so that 
it only communicated with the Atlantic and Pacific at the Gulf of Mex- 
ico and the Arctic Sea. . The continued elevation of both eastern and 
western shores contracted its area, and when ridges of the sea-bottom 
reached the surface, forming long, low bars, parts of the water-area were 
enclosed and connection with salt water prevented. Thus were the living 
beings imprisoned and subjected to many new risks to life. The stronger 
could more readily capture the weaker, while the fishes would gradually 
perish through the constant freshening of the water. With the death of 
any considerable class the balance of food-supply would be lost, and many 
larger species would disappear from the scene. The most omnivorous and 
enduring would longest resist the approach of starvation, but would finally 
yield to inexorable fate ; the last one caught by the shifting bottom among 
shallow pools, from which his exhausted energies could not extricate him." 

SNAKE RIVER. 

The Snake or Lewis Fork of the Columbia heads in the Yellowstone 
National Park, opposite the heads of the Madison and Yellowstone Rivers. 
Its sources are in beautiful lakes embosomed in heavily-wooded hills. 
Flowing southward, it soon enters a mountainous country, from which it* 
receives several large tributaries — Barlow's Fork, Buffalo Fork, Gros 
Ventre Creek, and Hoback River. It washes the east base of the Teton 
Range, which rears its rugged Gothic spires seven thousand feet above its 
valley. Turning to the west, the river cuts across the mountains which 



THE GREAT WEST. 59 

seek to check its course in a terrific gorge wellnigh impassable. On the 
west side of these mountains it enters upon a great field of basalt, a great 
volcanic plain covered with drifting sand and seamed with crevasses like 
those of a glacier. This is known as the Snake River Plain. It crosses 
this plain by a southerly course, then gradually sweeping around to the 
westward, it hugs the southern border of this basalt field as far as longi- 
tude 117°, when it turns northward, then for a short distance westward 
again to its junction with Clark's Fork, making the mighty Columbia. 

In its course across and around the basalt plain it is rapid and tumult- 
uous, boiling and seething along, its bed broken by boulders and ledges. 
In several places there are noteworthy falls. The upper of these is the 
American Fall, at a point a few miles below the mouth of the Portneuf, 
where the " Mad " River — as it was called in early days — leaps over a 
wall of basalt. Farther down is the Shoshone Fall, by far the greatest 
and finest on the river. This fall was visited in October, 1868, by Mr. 
Clarence King, and I quote his fine description of it : 

" The wall of the gorge opposite us, like the cliff at our feet, sank in 
perpendicular bluffs nearly to the level of the river. A horizon as level 
as the sea; a circling wall, whose sharp edges were here and there battle- 
mented in huge fortress-like masses ; a broad river, smooth and unruffled, 
flowing quietly into the middle of the scene, and then plunging into a 
labyrinth of rocks, tumbling over a precipice two hundred feet high, and 
flowing westward in a still deep current to disappear behind a black 
promontory Dead barrenness is the whole sentiment of the 



" In plan the fall recurves up-stream in a deep horseshoe, resembling 
the outline of Niagara. The total breadth is about seven hundred feet, 
and the greatest height of a single fall about one hundred and ninety. 
.... The whole mass of the fall is one ever-varying sheet of spray. 
In the early spring, when swollen by the rapidly-melted snows, the river 

pours over with something of the volume of Niagara There are 

no rocks at the base of the fall. The sheet of foam plunges almost ver- 
tically into a dark, beryl-green lake-like expanse of the river. Immense 
volumes of foam roll up from the cataract-base, and, whirling about in 

the eddying winds, rise often one thousand feet into the air The 

incessant roar, reinforced by a thousand echoes, fills the canon." 

HIGH MOUNTAIN-PEAKS. 

Southward from the Wind River chain the mountainous character of 
the Divide or continental watershed is interrupted for a short distance by 



60 THE GREAT WEST. 

comparatively level plateaus, while to the east are the Laramie Plains, 
bounded by a comparatively low range, of which Laramie Peak is about ten 
thousand feet high, and, on account of its isolation and the insignificance 
of the mountains in the vicinity, is one of the great landmarks of the 
West. Still farther south are the remarkable mountain-regions and the 
parks of Colorado. The Colorado or Front Range rises up before the 
traveller on the plains like a gigantic wall, with Long's Peak at the north 
and Pike's Peak at the south as high bastions. West of this range are 
three great depressions, North, Middle, and South Parks. In the Front 
Range are several peaks over fourteen thousand two hundred feet high 
(according to the latest surveys) — Long's, 14,271 feet; Evans's, 14,330 
feet ; and Gray's and Torrey's, twin-peaks, with an interval of less than 
a mile, 14,341 and 14,336 feet. In this range are the oldest known 
silver- and gold-mines in Colorado. On the west side of the parks is the 
Park range, in which are several peaks of over thirteen thousand feet, 
and a few, as Mount Lincoln, of over fourteen thousand feet. From 
Mount Lincoln one can look down into the valley of the upper Arkansas 
River and across to the Sawatch range, one of the most remarkable in 
the West. At its north end is the Holy Cross group, in latitude 39° 30' 
and longitude 106° 33', composed of gneiss and coarse massive granite. 
For eighty miles to the southward this range literally bristles with peaks, 
many of which rise over fourteen thousand feet. Harvard, Yale, and 
Princeton are respectively 14,384, 14,150, 14,199 feet, and many others 
are over thirteen thousand feet. The rocky mass is mostly granite, inter- 
sected with igneous dikes. The general trend of this range is about 20° 
west of north, and it forms one of the most gigantic anticlinals in the 
entire Rocky Mountain region. Vast ranges of massive granitic rock, 
capped with limestone and sandstone, incline from either side, with broad 
valleys intervening. The proofs of ancient glacial action on both sides 
of the range are wonderful. In the valley of Roches Moutonnees Creek, 
which flows into Eagle River from its north-east base, are very remark- 
able rounded masses of granite. Such have long been called in Swiss 
geology sheep-backs, or roches moutonnees. Here they are shown on a 
grand scale. In the valley of the Arkansas or the Gunnison are 
marvellous examples of lateral and terminal moraines, and there are 
numerous lakes whose basins have been scooped out by some extended 
glacial action. The Twin Lakes are beautiful sheets of water on the 
east side of the Sawatch range, from two to three miles in diameter and 
about eighty feet deep. These are two glacial lakes. The proofs of 
glacial action are common throughout the Rocky Mountain region, but 



THE GREAT WEST. 61 

they are nowhere shown to a more marked extent east of the Sierra Ne- 
vadas than in the Sawatch range. From the west side of this range flow 
the Gunnison River and the southern branches of the Grand, which, after 
cutting deep cafions or gorges, unite near the western boundary of Colo- 
rado ; and, cutting a still deeper canon, the stream flows into the great 
Colorado of the West. West of the Sawatch or great " Mother " (Madre) 
range is another remarkable group in the drainage that leads to the great 
Colorado, called the Elk range. It is about fifty miles in length, with a 
trend about north-west and south-east, and differs from any of the others 
mentioned both in form and structure. In this range are seven peaks of 
the first order, rising to an elevation of nearly fourteen thousand feet, 
and many others ranging from twelve to thirteen thousand feet. The 
geological structure is veiy peculiar. It appears that the vast thickness 
of sedimentary strata once rested upon a floor of igneous granite in a 
pasty or semi-pasty condition, and that these high peaks were thrust up 
through the overlying beds, in many instances completely overturning 
them for miles in extent. There are faults two thousand feet in extent, 
and dikes without number where the igneous material seems to have been 
squeezed through fissures into thousands of feet of overlying strata, 
vertically as well as horizontally. Deep gorges and amphitheatres meet 
the eye on every side. Snow-mass Peak, 13,961 feet high, is so called 
from the immense mass of perpetual snow on its side. At its immediate 
base, on all sides, are beautiful lakes, the surface is remarkably rugged, 
and as far as the eye can reach on every side are high peaks, with deep 
gorges in one continuous succession, while the sedimentary rocks are 
thrown into chaos. On the north-west end of the range is a remarkable 
peak which forms an excellent landmark, known among miners and pros- 
pectors for years as Sopris Peak, 12,972 feet high. From this point the 
land slopes off into the remarkable plateau country bordering on the 
Colorado River, literally gashed, as it were, by the little streams which 
have cut innumerable canons through it. There is probably no country 
in the world that presents more obstructions to the traveller. 

At first glance, the Park range appears to be connected with the Sangre 
de Cristo range, which bounds the east side of the San Luis Valley ; but 
the former is separated from the latter by the Arkansas Valley, and really 
lies parallel with it. It begins in latitude 38° 26' and longitude 106°, 
trends south 30° east, and shows on its summit a continuous series of 
sharp peaks. Parallel to it on the east, and bordering the plains, is the 
Wet Mountain range. The interval is known as the Wet Mountain 
Valley and Huerfano Park, one of the most beautiful and fertile districts 



62 THE GREAT WEST. 

in Colorado. These mountains extend for down into New Mexico. South- 
ward, the Sierra Blanca and the Spanish Peaks are lofty landmarks. Fort 
Garland, an old military post in the San Luis Valley, though nearly sur- 
rounded with high ranges is not a park, but a valley thirty to fifty miles 
wide, through which the Rio Grande flows after emerging from the San 
Juan Mountains, cutting a gorge through its basaltic floor one thousand 
to fifteen hundred feet in depth for sixty to eighty miles. 

Immediately west of the upper portion of the San Luis Valley, in 
South-western Colorado, is a most interesting as well as lofty group of 
mountains, forming what is now called the San Juan district. These 
mountains give origin to a great number of streams. On the north are 
many branches of the Gunnison, on the east the Rio Grande, and on the 
south and west the various branches of the San Juan, which flow south- 
west and west, and unite with the Colorado. Within an area of about 
four thousand square miles is the most important and rugged group of 
peaks in Colorado, and probably in this portion of the mountain-region 
of the West. More than one hundred points are above thirteen thousand 
feet high, and about ten peaks are over fourteen thousand feet. Large 
areas here are composed entirely of quartzites, and others wholly of igneous 
rocks. Toward the south, in Southern Colorado and in New Mexico and 
Arizona, the volcanic action seems to have been very great, and the area 
covered with igneous rocks increases; sometimes they occupy several 
thousand square miles to the exclusion of all others. What are called the 
broad table-lands or mesas of New Mexico are simply floors of basalt. 
Colorado may be regarded as the culminating area of lofty points in the 
eastern division of the Rocky Mountain region, as California is in the 
Sierra Nevada ranges. Within the limits of Colorado are fifty or more 
points exceeding fourteen thousand feet in height, and more than two hun- 
dred and fifty of over thirteen thousand feet, while the number reaching 
thirteen thousand feet is unknown. The average elevation of Colorado 
State is greater than that of any other State or Territory in the Union, 
being six thousand six hundred feet, while California, with its magnificent 
group of peaks in the Sierra Nevada, averages only two thousand eight 
hundred feet. 

THE PLATEAU REGION OP THE COLORADO RIVER. GENERAL VIEW. 

The country drained by the Colorado River is a peculiar region. 
It is a country of plateaus and canons, the plateaus mainly arid and 
sterile, where the new streams flow in deep gorges far below the 
surface. 



THE GREAT WEST. 63 

The longest and most northern branch of the Colorado is Green River, 
which heads in the Wind River Mountains, against the sources of the 
Big Horn and the Snake Rivers. This stream, in its long course toward 
the south, receives the waters of the Uintah from the west and the Yam- 
pah and White Rivers from the east. Near latitude 38° 15' and longitude 
110° it is joined by the Grand River, a stream of nearly equal size, which 
heads in Middle Park, Colorado, drawing its first supplies of water from 
the snow-fields of Long's Peak. The stream below the junction of these 
two forks is known as the Colorado. 

Below their junction the principal branches of the Colorado from 
the east are the San Juan, the Colorado Chiquito or Flax River, 
William's Fork, and the Gila; on the west, the Dirty Devil, Paria' 
and Virgen. 

This region is limited on the east, north, and north-west by high 
mountain-ranges. Its surface is nearly flat, but by no means unbroken. 
There is little rolling or undulating country. Changes of level take 
place by very gentle uniform slopes or by abrupt precipitous steps. A 
large part of the surface consists of bare rocks, with no soil or vegeta- 
tion. A part is covered with a thin sandy soil, which supports a growth 
of sage and cacti, or even a few pifion pines and cedars. The only veg- 
etation is that eminently characteristic of an arid country. 

This aridity has modified orographic forms to an astonishing degree. 
Where, under different climatic conditions, there would be produced a 
region similar in most respects to the prairies of the Mississippi Valley, 
we find a country flat indeed or inclined at low angles, but one whose 
watercourses are far beneath the general level, deep down in canons, 
hundreds, thousands of feet beneath the surface. Great cliffs, thousands 
of feet in height and extending like huge walls for hundreds of miles, 
change the level of the country at a single step. Isolated buttes and 
mesas of great height are scattered over the plateaus, indicating the 
former height of the plain of which they formed parts. 

" The landscape everywhere away from the river is of rock— cliffs of 
rock, tables of rock, plateaus of rock, terraces of rock, crags of rock- 
ten thousand strangely-carved forms. Rocks everywhere, and no vegeta- 
tion ; no soil ; no land When speaking of these rocks, we must 

not conceive of piles of boulders or heaps of fragments, but a whole 
land of naked rock, with giant forms carved on it— cathedral-shaped 
buttes, towering hundreds or thousands of feet ; cliffs that cannot be 
scaled ; and cafion-walls that shrink the river into insignificance, with 
vast hollow domes and tall pinnacles, and shafts set on the verge over- 



64 THE GREAT WEST. 

head, and all highly colored — buff, gray, red, brown, and chocolate; 
never lichened, never moss-covered, but bare, and often polished." 

The above description by Major J. W. Powell, who has explored the 
canons of the Colorado, gives a graphic pen-picture of the lower and 
more arid plateaus of this region. 

Nearly every watercourse, whether perennial or not, is a canon — a nar- 
row valley with precipitous walls, often of enormous height. In many 
cases these canons are so numerous that they cut the plateau into shreds 
— a mere skeleton of a country. Of such a section Lieutenant Ives, who 
explored the course of the Lower Colorado, writes : " The extent and 
magnitude of the system of canons in that direction is astounding. The 
plateau is cut into shreds by these gigantic chasms, and resembles a vast 
ruin. Belts of country miles in width have been swept away, leaving 
only isolated mountains standing in the gap ; fissures so profound that 
the eye cannot penetrate their depths are separated by walls whose thick- 
ness one can almost span, and slender spires that seem tottering on their 
base shoot up a thousand feet from vaults below." 

But few of these canons contain water throughout the year. Most of 
them are dry at all times excepting for a few days in the early spring or 
for a few minutes or hours at most after a heavy shower. It is a charac- 
teristic of Western North America, as of all arid countries, that the 
streams, away from their sources in the mountains, lose water, rather 
than gain it, in traversing the lower country. The dry atmosphere and 
the thirsty soil absorb it, and in very many cases large streams entirely 
disappear in this way. This is the case to a great extent in the plateau 
country, and still more so in the Great Basin, where these are the only 
outlets to the drainage. 

A few words will suffice to sketch the manner in which the climate has 
acted in producing these strange and unique orographic effects. The great 
degree of aridity of the atmosphere and the slight rainfall, coupled with 
its sudden explosive character, render plant-life very limited in amount. 
The soil, having little or no protection against the sudden floods, is 
washed away as fast, or nearly as fast, as it is formed ; or, in other 
words, transportation nearly or quite keeps pace with disintegration. 
The rains, coining as they always do in floods, run immediately off the 
bare rock or over and through the thin sandy soil, sweeping it with them, 
and, collecting in the little runs with incredible rapidity, rush down them 
in great body and with great velocity, sweeping everything before them. 
The waters are turbid and thick with sediment, coarse and sharp-edged 
from the rapid cutting of the rocks. It is this detritus which Dame 



THE GREAT WEST. 65 

Nature uses as her chisel in carving canons, cliffs, buttes, and the other 
quaint and curious forms which one meets in this strange land. A clear 
stream, whatever may be its velocity, has little erosive power ; but put 
these tools in its possession, give it the quantity of coarse sand and gravel 
which the Colorado and its tributaries always hold in suspension, and its 
cutting power is enormous. The difference in climatic conditions between 
the district under discussion and the plains is one of degree only, but it is 
sufficient to produce very marked differences in orographic forms. Wher- 
ever the climatic conditions are such that soil can be formed and be cov- 
ered with vegetation, there canons cannot be produced, other than as gaps 
for the passage of streams through mountain-ranges ; and, in proportion 
as the climate becomes more arid, so will the country approach in its 
physical features a canon-land. 

While every stream in this region flows in a canon — and there are 
thousands of canons which contain no water whatever — the most remark- 
able succession of these clefts is that on the main stream of the region, 
the Colorado, and its main branch, the Green. The lower canons of the 
river were explored in 1857 by Lieutenant Ives as far as the head of the 
Black Canon. In 1869, Major J. W. Powell explored the main portion 
of the river in boats. He started from Green River City, in South- 
western Wyoming, and safely threaded the devious path of the canons 
as far as the mouth of the Grand Wash, a distance of one thousand 
miles. Throughout this distance there are but few miles where the river 
is not deep in the bowels of the earth. 

The following vivid description of the Grand Canon cannot fail to be 
read with interest : 

" The walls now are more than a mile in height, a vertical distance 

difficult to appreciate A thousand feet of this is up through 

granite crags, then steep slopes and perpendicular cliffs rise, one above 
another, to the summit. The gorge is black and narrow below, red and 
gray and flaring above, with crags and angular projections on the Malls, 
which, cut in many places by side-canons, seem to be a vast wilderness 
of rocks. Down in these grand, gloomy depths we glide, ever listening, 
for the mad waters keep up their roar; ever watching, ever peering 
ahead, for the narrow canon is winding and the river is closed in, so that 
we can see but a few hundred yards, and what there may be below we 
know not ; but we listen for falls and watch for rocks, or stop now and 
then in the bay of a recess to admire the gigantic scenery. And ever as 
we go there is some new pinnacle or tower, some crag or peak, some dis- 
tant view of the upper plateau, some strange-shaped rock, or some deep, 

5 



66 THE GREAT WEST. 

narrow side-canon*. Then we come to another broken fall, which appears 
more difficult than the one we ran this morning. 

" Clouds are playing in the canon to-day. Sometimes they roll down 
in great masses, filling the gorge with gloom ; sometimes they hang above 
from wall to wall, and cover the canon with a roof of impending storm ; 
and we can peer long distances up and down this canon-corridor, with its 
cloud-roof overhead, its walls of black granite, and its river bright with 
the sheen of broken waters. Then a gust of wind sweeps down a side- 
gulch, and, making a rift in the clouds, reveals the blue heavens, and a 
stream of sunlight pours in. Then the clouds drift away into distance, 
and hang around crags and peaks and pinnacles and towers and walls, 
and cover them with a mantle that lifts from time to time and sets them 
all in sharp relief. Then baby-clouds creep out of side-canons, glide 
around points, and creep back again into more distant gorges. Then 
clouds set in strata across the canon, with intervening vista-views to cliffs 
and rocks beyond. The clouds are children of the heavens, and when 
they play among the rocks they lift them to the region above 

" The varying depths of this canon, due to the varying altitudes of 
the plateaus through which it runs, can only be seen from above. As we 
wind about in the gloomy depths below, the difference between four 
thousand and six thousand feet is not discerned, but the characteristics 
of the canon — the scenic features — change abruptly with the change in 
the altitude of the walls as the falls are passed. In running the channel 
which divides the twin plateaus we pass round the first great southern 
bend. In the very depths of the canon we have black granite, with a 
narrow cleft through which a great river plunges. This granite portion 
of the walls is carved with deep gulches and embossed with pinnacles 
and towers. Above are broken, ragged, nonconformable rocks, in many 
places sloping back at a low angle. Clambering over these, we reach 
rocks lying in horizontal beds. Some are soft, many very hard; the 
softer strata are washed on, the harder remain as shelves. Everywhere 
there are side-gulches and canons, so that these gulches are set about ten 
thousand dark, gloomy alcoves. One might imagine that this was intended 
for the library of the gods ; and it was. The shelves are not for books, 
but form the stony leaves of one great book. He who would read the 
language of the universe may dig out letters here and there, and with 
them spell the words, and read, in a slow and imperfect way, but still so 
as to understand a little, the story of creation." * 

* Exploration of the Colorado River of the West: Washington, 1875; pp. 83, 85, 193, 194. 



THE GREAT WEST. 67 



RUINS IN THE SOUTH-WESTERN TERRITORIES. 

In the Territories bordering upon the Colorado drainage-system are 
found ruins and other remains of a people evidently more or less distinct 
from the Mound-builders, and probably much more closely related to the 
Aztecs of Mexico. All over Arizona, the western half of New Mexico, 
the south-western portion of Colorado, the southern part of Utah and Ne- 
vada, with the south-eastern portion of California, are found the ruins of 
structures raised by this people. They resemble in many important par- 
ticulars the towns and houses of the Moquis and Pueblo Indians of the 
present day, which are described elsewhere in this volume, and who are 
probably the last remnants of a once great race which covered this region 
at one time with a dense population. 

These ruins, in their locations and characters, serve to sketch in rough 
outline the history of this people — their peaceful, quiet, pastoral, and agri- 
cultural lives, then the rude onslaught upon them by the barbarous tribes 
from the North, who drove them from their indefensible agricultural 
towns, first, to take shelter upon the summits of high mesas, and then, 
as they became weaker and less able to cope with their formidable enemies, 
to the clefts and crannies of the rocks, to the most inaccessible places which 
Nature had provided. So we can easily distinguish two entirely different 
classes of structures — first, the agricultural settlements ; and second, those 
used as fortresses or retreats in time of war. 

Those of the first class were built in the fertile river-bottoms, close to 
water and arable land. The houses were mainly communal, several stories 
high, similar to the pueblos of the present day. They were made of stone, 
laid in more or less regular courses in mortar, or of adobe (sun-dried) 
brick. In their ground-plan these communal houses are rectangular, cir- 
cular, or elliptical, or, more rarely, of irregular form. They are usually 
built around or nearly around a rectangular or circular court, into which 
the houses open, while on the outside the structure presents a blank wall, 
broken only by small apertures which served as windows. 

In every town has been found one or more estufas, or sweat-houses, as 
they are called, for the sake of a name. The building or room is rectan- 
gular or circular, and much more commonly the latter. In some cases, 
however, it is an underground apartment. However built, it is always 
with very great care, and oftentimes with a view to architectural effect. 
It is usually the most pretentious building in the settlement. A very 
common form is that of a tower, usually with a double wall, the annular 
space between the two walls being subdivided into rooms. One of these 



68 THE GREAT WEST. 

having a triple Avail has been found. It is probable that this building 
was used as a place of worship or was in some way connected with their 
religion. It may also have been used as the council-house where the 
grave affairs of state were discussed. 

At a locality in South-western Colorado known as Aztec Spring is 
situated one of the largest of these towns. The mass of ruins — for the 
town is in a very ruinous state — covers an area of about four hundred and 
eighty thousand square feet, and is about three to four feet in depth, 
making one million five hundred thousand cubic feet of masonry. The 
stone used is from a cliff fully a mile away. At Ojo Caliente, New Mex- 
ico, are the ruins of another large town. It is placed upon a high terrace 
near Caliente Creek. It was built chiefly of adobe, and consisted of rows 
of rooms built around central courts. On the Rios San Juan, Chaco, and 
De Chelly are found a number of other towns more or less similar. 

The second class of structures — those built mainly for purposes of de- 
fence — are in general in a much better state of preservation, owing in part 
to their more sheltered position, but mainly, undoubtedly, to the fact that 
they are of a somewhat more recent date, as indicating a later chapter in 
the history of this people. Some of them, and perhaps the more elabo- 
rate structures, are built upon the summits of almost inaccessible mesas, 
as are the Moquis' towns of the present day. Here are found round tow- 
ers of considerable height, serving not only as fortresses but as watch- 
towers. But the cave-dwellings, as they are called, are by far the more 
numerous and interesting. This country, as was stated in the geographical 
description, is very arid. There are but few streams, and most of these 
traverse the country deep down below the surface in canons, with rocky, 
precipitous walls. Different strata in these canon-walls have been eroded 
in different degrees, so that one finds horizontal caves in the walls where 
one of the horizontal beds has weathered back a few feet farther than the 
harder beds above and below it. In many cases where these caves have 
occurred part- way up a cliff these people — sore beset by their enemies — 
have built places of refuge, secure from attack from above by reason of 
the overhanging cliff, and nearly so from below, as the occupants had to 
depend upon ladders or steps cut in the nearly perpendicular face of rock. 
Travelling down the canon of the Rio Mancos in South-western Colorado, 
one sees everywhere on the walls which encompass him on either hand 
these structures, like swallows' nests, in the clefts and crannies of the rocks. 
In some cases there are quite large groups of houses, well built of stone, 
even two stories in height. In others a simple wall has been thrown up 
across the front of a crevice. 



THE GREAT WEST. 69 

Other traces of this ancient people are not wanting. Great areas — 
hundreds of square miles, indeed — are so thickly strewn with fragments 
of pottery that one may ride for days and at every step his horse's 
hoofs will strike them. Few whole vessels have been found in the 
ruins. They have been thoroughly explored by the Indians, who have 
taken almost everything of value to them. The pottery resembles very 
closely, in material and in the designs painted upon it, that of the Moquis 
and Pueblo people of the present, but in quality it is vastly superior to 
the latter. Again, in many localities arrow-heads of chalcedony and 
obsidian have been found in abundance, indicating the scenes of many 
a bloody conflict. 

As to the age of these ruins little is known. It is certain that they 
date back several centuries, undoubtedly before the first Spanish conquest, 
and a few facts point to a very great antiquity. That they may have 
been a colony of the Aztecs, founded by them in their southward 
migration to the table-lands of Mexico, is not improbable. But few 
facts are known on which to base a theory. 

THE GREAT BASIN. 

Between the Wahsatch range and the Sierra Nevada lies a great area 
which has no outlet to either ocean — an area containing many great 
ranges of mountains, with broad valleys at their bases ; but the moun- 
tains send down to the plains few permanent streams, and nearly all 
of these are absorbed by the thirsty soil immediately, or flow into salt 
lakes to feed the increasing thirst of the dry atmosphere. 

On the east this region is tolerably well defined by the Wahsatch and 
other ranges — on the west by the Sierra Nevada. On the north and 
south, however, its limits are not sharply defined, the divides being in 
most cases mere swells in otherwise flat valleys. 

The scenery in the vicinity of the Wahsatch Mountains has long been 
celebrated for its grandeur and beauty. Mount Nebo, one of its promi- 
nent peaks and a noted landmark, is 11,992 feet high. The trend of this 
range is nearly north and south, while projecting like a spur toward the 
east is the Uintah range, with a trend nearly east and west, and with a 
number of peaks over thirteen thousand feet high. This is one of the 
most beautiful and symmetrical ranges in the West. The nucleus is com- 
posed of quartzites, which are so elevated that the central mass seems to 
have been lifted up horizontally or nearly so. The entire range is a re- 
markable example of a huge anticlinal, and on either side of the axis are 
the numerous pyramidal peaks, rising far above the timber-line and 



70 THE GREAT WEST. 

covered with perpetual snow. Three distinct belts may be noted in this 
range — one above the timber-line, revealing only the bare, bleak rocks ; 
below, a dense belt of pine timber ; and near the base and sloping off 
into the plains, another comparatively barren belt. The Wahsatch range 
has a gray granite nucleus, with a great thickness of sedimentary beds 
lying on the sides and often rising to the very summits. In the Great 
Basin between the. Wahsatch Mountains and the Sierra Nevada are many 
smaller mountain-ranges, lying nearly parallel with each other, some of 
which seem to rise abruptly out of the surrounding plateau. This great 
depression was undoubtedly at no remote period, geologically speaking, 
a lake of several hundred miles in extent, out of whose waters the sum- 
mits of the mountains projected like islands. In the Shoshone Basin, 
forming the eastern portion of Oregon and west part of Idaho, are a 
great number of similar ranges, all lying parallel with each other, ap- 
pearing like the waves of the sea after a storm. The Salmon River 
Mountains, Blue Mountains, and many others are composed of a series 
of remarkably regular ridges, trending mainly north and south. Between 
the mountain-ranges in the Great Basin are valleys of greater or less 
breadth, floored with a modern Pliocene formation, which in turn is 
covered with detritus, so that their bases are concealed. The mountains 
and plain show proof of immense erosion, so that the mountain-ranges 
themselves are only remnants of their former magnitude. They are 
composed largely of sedimentary rocks, mostly metamorphosed; also 
of granitic and volcanic rocks. The valleys are really arid deserts to a 
great extent, with very little water the greater portion of the year. 
A few springs here and there supply the thirsty traveller. Immedi- 
ately around Great Salt Lake are numerous valleys watered by the 
streams that flow from the mountains, and in such cases the soil is 
remarkably productive. 

In this basin are some quite large rivers, as the Humboldt, Sevier, Jor- 
dan, Bear, etc. Jordan and Bear Rivers are large streams, but pour their 
waters into Great Salt Lake, which has no outlet. Humboldt River takes 
its rise in the Humboldt range, flows south-westward, and is lost in Hum- 
boldt Lake, or " Sink," as it was called by the early pioneers. Sevier is a 
very sinuous stream, waters a narrow valley, and disappears in Sevier 
Lake. 

The following general description of the features of the Great Basin is 
found in the Report of the U. S. Geological Survey for 1870, made by 
Dr. Hay den : 

" Let us for a moment take a bird's-eye view of the great inland basin 



THE GREAT WEST. 71 

of which Salt Lake Valley forms only a part. We shall find that what 
is termed the Great Basin of the West comprises the vast area enclosed 
by the Wahsatch Mountains on the east and the Sierra Nevada on the 
west, the crest or water-divide of the Columbia on the north, and that of 
the Colorado on the south. We shall also observe that this great region 
has no visible outlet ; that it is composed of a multitude of smaller basins 
or valleys, each of which has its little lakes, springs, and watercourses, 
their surplus water either evaporating or sinking beneath the surface. If 
we examine the elevations in this region, we observe a wonderful uni- 
formity in the surface of the valleys, and find that none of them are 

much above the level of the waters of Great Salt Lake I infer 

that a fresh-water lake once occupied all this immense basin ; that the 
smaller ranges of mountains were scattered over it as isolated islands, 
their summits projecting above the surface ; that the waters have grad- 
ually and slowly passed away by evaporation, and the terraces are left to 
reveal certain oscillations of level and the steps of progress toward the 
present order of things ; and that the briny waters have concentrated in 
those lake-basins which have no outlet." 



GREAT SALT LAKE. 

The principal lake in the Great Basin is Great Salt Lake, which 
receives its principal waters from the Wahsatch Mountains. It might 
be called a vast inland sea, as it occupies an area of 2360 square miles. 
It is quite shallow, frequently not more than from ten to twenty feet, and 
its greatest depth not far from sixty feet. Having no outlet, the evap- 
oration is very great. The amount fluctuates, somewhat depending upon 
the character of the seasons. However, the surface has gradually risen 
since 1849 about eleven feet, and the area covered by the lake is said to 
be forty per cent, greater, indicating an important increase in the moisture 
of the climate in later years. 

Great Salt Lake is but the ruin of a much grander lake which in ages 
past covered a large part of the area of the Great Basin. The shore- 
line of this great lake — for which the name of Bonneville has been pro- 
posed — is yet distinctly marked high up on the slopes of the Wahsatch 
and other ranges in this part of the basin, 970 feet above its present sur- 
face. At that time it had an outlet, draining northward into the Snake 
or Lewis Fork of the Columbia. During the process of desiccation of 
the country, caused by the rise of the Sierra Nevada, the lake receded, 
but its recession was checked for greater or less intervals, which are 



72 THE GREAT WEST. 

indicated by minor beach-lines which form a succession of steps upon the 
mountain-side. 

The waters of this lake are said to be the strongest brine known. 
The human body floats almost entirely on the surface. At the time of 
Captain Stansbury's survey in 1850 the water contained 22.4 per cent, of 
solid matter ; at present the percentage of solid matter is much less. In 
1869 it was reduced to 14.8. An analysis of the solid matter by the 
survey of the 40th parallel (vide Rept. Sur. 4-Oth Par., vol. ii. p. 433) 
gave in 150 parts — 

Magnesia 6.301 

Lime 0.357 

Soda 66.978 

Potassa 2.901 

Sulphuric acid 8.215 

Chlorine _J83 946 

168.698 
Less oxygen of soda and magnesia 18.758 

149.940 
or, in other words — 

Chloride of sodium 79.11 

Chloride of magnesium 9.95 

Sulphate of soda 6.22 

Sulphate of potassa 3.58 

Sulphate of lime 0.57 

Excess of chlorine 0.57 

100.00 

The elevation of the lake above sea-level is 4218 feet. 



THE NORTHERN SYSTEM OF MOUNTAINS. 

A grand system of mountains stretches from the Arctic Ocean on the 
north to Mexico on the south, fronting the Pacific Ocean. Portions of 
this system are known as the Cascade, the Sierra Nevada, Coast Range, 
etc. These mountains, as they extend into Mexico, have long been known 
as the Cordilleras of Mexico, and the main ranges of South America bear 
the name of Cordilleras or Andes. As Professor Whitney insists, prior- 
ity would demand that the appellation of " Cordilleras " be continued to 
this great group of mountains in their extension northward on the Pacific 
coast to British America. I therefore regard it as just that the term 
■" Cordilleras " shall be used as the main generic term, while the more 
indefinite term, " Rocky Mountains," should fall under it as sub-generic. 
The term " Rocky Mountains " has been so long applied to the eastern 
division that this section, including as it does the water-divide of the 
continent, should not have its weight or importance diminished in our 



THE GREAT WEST 73 

geographical nomenclature. This becomes the more important if, as I 
believe, all the great groups of mountains west of longitude 105° will be 
found, when carefully studied, to be a unity in a general geographical 
and geological point of view. 

North of latitude 49° but little is known of these western ranges, but 
it is known that they extend without any permanent interruption to the 
Arctic Ocean, Avith here and there a lofty peak, which from ignorance of 
its precise character has been assigned a greatly exaggerated elevation. 
In regard to the height of these peaks there is a great disagreement 
among observers. Mount Hood was ascended in 1864 by Messrs. Wood 
and Atkinson, and pronounced 17,430 feet above sea-level. In 1867 
Lieut.-Col. Williamson, with excellent and reliable instruments, found 
its height to be only 11,225. Professor Whitney's trigonometrical meas- 
urement of the same peak showed, by a rough calculation, about 11,700 
feet. The latter measurements are undoubtedly very nearly correct. The 
same discrepancies exist in regard to the elevation of the other mountain- 
peaks, but careful instrumental measurements have reduced them to a 
moderate figure. Mount Baker and Mount Hood, both of which are 
enormous volcanic cones, may be regarded as respectively about 11,100 
and 11,225 feet. The elevation of Mount Ranier, or Lachoma, may be 
regarded as pretty definitely settled by the observations of Professor 
Davidson of the U. S. Coast Survey at 14,444 feet — four feet higher 
than Mount Shasta, and therefore the most elevated point in the Cascade 
range. 

The Cascade Range is a continuation northward of the Sierra Nevada 
or Snowy Range, and is separated only by the chasm of the Klamath 
River. Through the entire length of Oregon and Washington Territo- 
ries the Cascade Range runs north and south, parallel to, and about one 
hundred miles from, the Pacific shore. Near the 49th parallel it is bent 
north-westerly, conforming with the trend of the coast, and in British 
Columbia is called the Marine Range. The average elevation is five to 
six thousand feet. It obtained its name from the Cascades of the Co- 
lumbia, which are formed by the passage of that river through it. The 
country along the immediate coast is but a narrow belt, much broken, 
while the shore is indented with great numbers of bays or inlets, of which 
the estuary of the Columbia, Shoalwater Bay, and Gray's Harbor are 
noted. Promontories and rocky islets are visible everywhere as surviv- 
ing monuments of the terrific erosion which has swept away entire moun- 
tain-ranges, leaving at this time only the single group of the Cascade 
range. A few of the peaks are said to be at times active volcanoes. 



74 THE GREAT WEST. 

Mount St. Helen's is reported, upon good authority, as having in Febru- 
ary, 1842, discharged lava, sending streams of it down its sides. Mount 
Baker is said to be still smoking, and others show some signs of volcanic 
activity. 

South of Cape Mendocino, in latitude 40° 30', to Point Conception, 
near latitude 34° 30', the Coast Range of California is composed of a 
succession of parallel ranges, with intervening valleys of great beauty 
and fertility. Between the Coast Range and the Cascades is a longitu- 
dinal depression which forms the valley of the Willamette, extending 
northward to the Gulf of Georgia. Similar valleys occur in California, 
as the San Joaquin and Sacramento. In this northern region the forests 
are very dense, and the undergrowth so thick that it is difficult to pene- 
trate it. Trees occur of majestic size, of which the yellow fir (Abies 
Douglasii) predominates over all others. The cedar (Thuya giganted) is 
also very abundant. The lumber interests of this country are immense. 

Between the Cascades and the eastern group of mountains lies the basin 
of the Columbia, which is an arid plain covered with artemisia or wild 
sage and bunch-grass. The surface is cut through by deep canons, 
through which the large rivers flow between huge walls of basalt. Al- 
though there are great varieties of climate in this division, it is extremely 
mild on the immediate coast. At Puget Sound snow seldom falls, and 
remains but a short time. Rains are very abundant, reaching sixty 
inches during the year. 

According to Professor J. D. Whitney, the Coast Range is coincident 
with the Sierra Nevada, both north and south. Near Lejon Pass, in 
latitude 35°, the ridges are topographically indistinguishable from each 
other, and it is only by carefully studying the position of the strata that 
it can be determined where one system begins and the other ends. The 
Coast Ranges are composed of newer formations than the Sierra, and 
have been subjected to greater disturbances up to a recent period ; and 
they contain no rocks older than the Cretaceous. 

In point of elevation the parts of this system vary widely. From 
three to four thousand feet above the sea in main height in North-western 
Oregon, it rises southward until in the southern part of this State, and in 
California nearly as far as the Bay of San Francisco, it has a mean height 
of not less than six thousand feet. The Bay of San Francisco lies just 
in the trend of this system, a great gap. South of it the ranges have 
much less height, reaching only two to three thousand feet above the sea. 
One of the most prominent peaks is Monte Diablo, rising right up from 
the bay to a height of three thousand eight hundred and sixty feet, and 




WINTER FOREST SCENE IN THE SIERRA NEVADAS. 

BY THOMAS MORAN. 



THE GREAT WEST. 75 

commanding a most beautiful view of one of the finest harbors in the 
world lying spread out at the feet ; while to the west, away across the 
yellow plain of the Sacramento Valley, stands the splendid panorama of 
the snowy crest of the Sierra Nevada. 

THE SIERRA NEVADA. 

The Sierra Nevada, or Snowy Range, forms the western border of the 
great continental plateaus, corresponding with the Rocky group on the 
east. While the base of the eastern mass is everywhere four to five thou- 
sand feet above the sea-level, and the descent to the sea imperceptible to 
the eye, the Sierra slopes rapidly, so that the sea-level is reached within 
one hundred miles. So far as now known, the highest peak of the 
United States is in the Sierra group — viz. Mount Whitney, 14,887 
feet. The peak which is believed to be the next in height is in 
Southern Colorado — Blanca Peak of Sierra Blanca, 14,464 feet. The 
scenery of the Sierra group is of surpassing grandeur and beauty. There 
^s not such a vast number of high peaks as in the Colorado group, but it 
may fairly claim the highest ; and inasmuch as the surrounding country 
has a much lower altitude, there is a massiveness about this magnificent 
range that even the Sawatch of Colorado cannot boast. The Sierra chain 
is about four hundred and fifty miles in length, and averages about eighty 
miles in width, supposing its northern terminus to be at Lassen's Butte, 
latitude 40° 30'. The central mass or core is chiefly granite, with meta- 
morphic slates on either side, capped with basaltic and other kinds of 
lava and heavy beds of ashes and breccia. All these rocks are visible 
from the Central Pacific Railroad between Truckee and Sacramento. The 
evidences of very modern volcanic action are visible everywhere. Even 
now there are numerous hot springs and geysers, as well as an occasional 
earthquake shock. The height of some of the dominating peaks is as 
follows: Mount Shasta, 14,442 feet; Mount Tyndall, 14,386; Mount 
Kaweah, 14,000 ; Mount Brewer, 13,886; Red Slate Peak, 13,400; 
Mount Dana, 13,277. On the mountains snow falls to the depth of 
forty or fifty feet, and much of it remains all the year. Enormous 
glaciers exist here even at the present time, and the evidences of ancient 
glacial action are wonderful. The worn and rounded granites of the 
Siena Nevada were well adapted to preserve the records of the old 
glaciers, and they everywhere testify to the intensity of their former 
power. These old glaciers have been continued down to the present 
time in a modified condition. All the glaciers occur on the north side 
of the mountains, and are very numerous — now estimated, according to 



76 THE GREAT WEST. 

Mr. John Muir, at sixty-five. The number known in the Alps is eleven 
hundred, of which about one hundred may be considered as primary. 
Some of these great masses of snow and ice, which are not considered 
true glaciers by good authority, are nearly as large as the Alpine — as the 
Lyell, North Kettle, and others not named. Although the existence of 
glacial phenomena on the Pacific slope has been known for many years, 
the subject has received comparatively little attention, but enough is 
known to invest them with the highest interest. Moraines and morainal 
lakes occur in the Sierras in great number. Lake Tenaya, at the head 
of the Merced River, or a branch of the same name, is a conspicuous ex- 
ample. Traces of the existence of an immense flow of ice are shown 
here in the valley occupied by the lake, according to Whitney, and the 
ridges on either side of the trail are so worn by glacial action that the 
rocks are slippery, rendering travel dangerous. In our country the 
Glacial period proper has passed away, and the masses of snow and ice 
that now remain behind are only remnants. 

GLACIAL, ACTION IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 
All through the Rocky Mountain group, on both sides of the great 
Divide, are remarkable examples of glacial action — moraines and morainal 
lakes. In Central Colorado, in the Sawateh and Elk Mountains, are large 
areas of glaciated granites, which are usually called sheep-backs or roches 
moutonnees. The first true glaciers on the Atlantic slope or in the Rocky 
Mountain group were observed in the summer of 1878 by the writer in 
the Wind River Mountains, in Wyoming Territory. On the south-east 
side of Fremont's Peak are two fine long glaciers, occupying an area of 
about two square miles, which are now named the Upper and Lower Fre- 
mont Glaciers. The neve is distinctly shown, and the crevasses produced 
by the slow movements are all large and well marked. Indeed, all the 
characters of a first-class Swiss glacier are found here. Several smaller 
ones are found in this range. Even these are comparatively only the very 
insignificant remnants of the immense glaciers of the true Glacial epoch. 
On the west side of the Wind River range the morainal ridges are of im- 
mense size, and glacial lakes of all sizes are scattered about in great num- 
bers. There must have been here at one time a mass of snow and ice 
moving down into the plains sixty-five miles long and twelve to fifteen 
broad. 

TIMBER-BELTS. 

Four pretty well-marked belts of forest vegetation were observed 
by Whitney in the Sierra Nevada. The lowest is the foot-hills, with 



THE GREAT WEST. 77 

oaks, buckeyes, and small Digger pines ; the second belt lies between four 
and five thousand feet, and consists of pitch-pine (Pinus ponderosa), bastard 
cedar, and Douglas spruce ; the third zone, between seven and nine thou- 
sand feet, is that of firs, as Picea grandis and amabilis, tamarack-pine, etc. ; 
and on the highest belt, above nine thousand feet, where vegetation begins 
to dwindle, a dwarf pine (Pinus crisiata) is seen up to the level of per- 
petual snow. 

There are great numbers of beautiful lakes in the Sierras, fed by the 
melting of the snows, among which are Lake Tahoe and Donner's Lake. 

THE YOSEMITE VALLEY. 

The Yosemite Valley, so remarkable for its rugged scenery, and which 
has been set apart by legislative action as a pleasure-ground, is in the 
Sierra. Through this valley flows the Merced River, and at its source is 
a fine group of mountain-peaks, thirteen thousand feet high, called the 
Merced group. 

We cannot do better, in order to give a general idea of this remarkable 
natural feature, than to quote the description of this valley written by 
Professor J. D. Whitney in the Guidebook of the Yosemite, p. 84, etseq.: 

" The Yosemite Valley is nearly in the centre of the State (California) 
north and south, and just midway between the east and west bases of the 

Sierra, here a little over seventy miles wide The valley is a nearly 

level area, about six miles in length and from half a mile to a mile in 
width, and sunken almost a mile in perpendicular depth below the general 
level of the adjacent region. It may be roughly likened to a gigantic 
trough hollowed in the mountains, nearly at right angles to their regular 
trend This trough .... is quite irregular, having several re- 
entering angles and square recesses, let back, as it were, into its sides ; 
still, a general north-east by easterly direction is maintained in the de- 
pression until we arrive near its upper end, where it turns sharply, at right 
angles almost, and soon divides into three branches, through either of 
which we may, going up a series of gigantic steps as it were, ascend to the 
general level of the Sierra. Down each of these branches, or cafions, de- 
scend streams, forks of the Merced, coming down the steps in a series of 
stupendous waterfalls. At its lower end the valley contracts into a narrow 
gorge or canon, with steeply-inclined walls, and not having the U-shape 
of the Yosemite, but the usual V-form of Californian valleys. 

" The principal features of the Yosemite, and those by which it is dis- 
tinguished from all other known valleys, are — first, the near approach to 
vertically of its walls ; second, their great height, not only absolutely, but 



78 THE GREAT WEST. 

as compared with the width of the valley itself; and, finally, the very 
small amount of talus or debris at the base of these gigantic cliffs. These 
are the great characteristics of the Yosemite throughout its whole length, 
but besides these there are many other striking peculiarities, and features 
both of sublimity and beauty, which can hardly be surpassed, if equalled, 
by those of any mountain-valley in the world. The domes or the water- 
falls of the Yosemite, or any single one of them even, would be sufficient 
in any European country to attract travellers from far and wide in all 
directions. Waterfalls in the vicinity of the Yosemite, surpassing in 
beauty many of those best known and most visited in Europe, are actually 
left entirely unnoticed by travellers because there are so many other ob- 
jects of interest." 

The objects of interest in this valley, which render it without a rival in 
scenic effects in the known world, are — first, the great cliffs and crags 
which border it, rising three to four thousand feet iu vertical height above 
its level ; second, the wonderful bas-reliefs of columns, spires, and arches 
upon its granite walls ; and, third, the grand and beautiful waterfalls by 
which the many tributaries to the Merced enter the valley, leaping over 
its walls from great heights. These deserve a more particular mention. 
Chief among them is the Yosemite Fall. This has a total height of 
twenty-six hundred feet, the upper fifteen hundred of which are in 
a clear leap from the top of the cliff. Then follows a succession of cascades 
of six or seven hundred feet, below which the stream makes a second fall 
to the bottom of the valley. The Bridal Veil Fall, though carrying much 
less water, is very beautiful. In its leap of six hundred and thirty feet 
the column of water is swayed hither and thither by the wind, and nearly 
dissolved into spray, which makes its fanciful name by no means inap- 
propriate. Other notable falls are the Vernal, four hundred feet, and the 
Nevada, six hundred feet, in height. 

FEATURES OF THE TWO MOUNTAIN-SYSTEMS. 

So far as structure and topography are concerned, the great mountain- 
systems extending along the western borders of the Western hemisphere 
from the Arctic Ocean to Patagonia may be regarded as a unit and due 
to one great cause. So far as we know at the present time, the general 
geological features are very similar, so that the application of a single 
comprehensive name to both groups as one grand system may not be 
deemed inappropriate. It may be said, then, that as North America has 
its lofty North Cordilleras group opposite the deep North Pacific Ocean, 
and its small Appalachian group opposite the shallower North Atlantic, 



THE GREAT WEST. 79 

so South America has its still higher Andes or Southern Cordilleras group 
opposite the deeper South Pacific, and the smaller Brazilian ranges oppo- 
site the South Atlantic. This generalization, as stated by Dana, is founded 
on a deep-seated structural cause. The elevation of a portion of the earth's 
crust requires in close proximity a corresponding depression. 

The great mountain-system of the Western United States may be 
primarily divided into two principal portions — the Sierra Nevada and 
Coast ranges, fronting the Pacific Ocean, and the Rocky chain, which 
forms the great water-divide of the continent. Each of these chains or 
groups is made up of a great number of smaller ranges, in the aggregate 
apparently possessing a considerable degree of regularity, but when 
studied in detail showing less system. Sometimes, as in the Great Basin, 
the main ranges seem to lie parallel for the most part, but usually the 
minor ranges branch off in some special direction. More commonly, the 
trend is about north-east and south-west, but in some instances it is due 
north and south or east and west. The Wahsatch range in Utah trends 
nearly north and south, while the Uintah range, which seems to branch 
off from it, trends nearly east and west. The area west of the Missis- 
sippi may be divided into mountain and prairie or plain country. The 
belt of plains on the east slope averages about five hundred miles in 
width, and gradually rises to the base of the mountains. The mountain 
portion has its greatest breadth between the 36th and 41st parallels, 
where it varies from eight hundred to one thousand miles. In this belt 
are the greatest number of lofty peaks, including the highest portion of 
the Sierra Nevada. 

Among the numerous ranges of the mountain-system of the West are 
many valleys and plateaus, varying from a few acres to hundreds, or even 
thousands, of square miles. Sometimes they are formed by erosion or by 
depression ; many of them are ancient lake-basins. In all the great 
mountain-districts of the West are thousands of these openings, into 
which settlements have already penetrated. In the San Juan Mountains 
is Baker's Park, with an extensive settlement of miners, and in the sur- 
rounding mountains are some of the richest silver-mines in America. The 
North, Middle, and South Parks in Colorado are areas of depression, 
underlaid with sedimentary strata and Availed in on every side by lofty 
mountain-ranges ; they are really old lake-basins. The North Park has 
a comparatively level surface and an average elevation of eight thousand 
feet. South of this, and only separated by a rather low mountain-range, 
is the Middle Park, which is much larger and far more rugged ; indeed, 
there is very little of what should be called plain country, but a succes- 



80 THE GREAT WEST. 

sion of high ridges, many of which are of volcanic origin. The average 
elevation is about seven thousand five hundred feet. Still farther south, 
but separated by a much wider belt of mountainous district, is the South 
Park, which is mostly a plain with an average elevation of nine thousand 
feet. In these parks there is frost every month in the year. San Luis 
Valley, in Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico, has an average 
elevation of seven to eight thousand feet. The Llano Estacado of Texas 
and New Mexico averages 3200 to 4700 feet above the sea-level ; the 
Colorado Plain in Arizona, 5500 feet ; Salt Lake Valley, Utah, 4200 to 
4500 feet ; Laramie Plains, Wyoming Territory, 7000 feet ; Snake River 
Plain, in Idaho, 4000 to 4500 feet ; Sevier Lake-Basin, Utah, 4700 feet ; 
Humboldt River Basin (Lassen's Meadows), Nevada, 4700 feet ; Carson 
River Basin, 3800 feet; Walker's River Basin, 4100 feet; and Mojave 
River Basin, California, 1100 feet. 

Comparing the mountain-plateaus or basins of the Western mountain- 
region with some of those in the Andean region of South America, the 
difference of elevation is very great. The Antisana plateau of South 
America is 13,451 feet; the basin of Santa Fe de Bogota, 8413 feet; and 
the basin near Lake Titicaca, 12,853 feet. Perhaps as great an extent 
of plateau is comprised in the belt between the 38th and 44th parallels of 
latitude as in any other portion of the Cordilleran area. Through this 
belt the Pacific Railroad passes. From Omaha to Cheyenne the track 
lies nearly all the way on the most modern Tertiary formations. From 
Cheyenne westward the road crosses the Laramie range, the highest point, 
Sherman, being 8271 feet. After passing over about fifteen miles of 
granitic rocks it descends into the Laramie Plains. Thence to the Wah- 
satch Mountains in Utah no more granitic rocks are met with, only Cre- 
taceous or Tertiary. In crossing the water-divide at Creston, 7030 feet 
high, the stranger would not suspect that he was passing from the Atlantic 
to the Pacific slope. The railroad runs through the Wahsatch range at 
right angles to its trend in the channel of the Weber River, with only 
four miles of granitic rocks ; so that from Omaha to Ogden, a distance 
of over one thousand miles, only about eighteen miles of metamorphic 
rocks are crossed. Hence the Central Pacific crosses the Salt Lake Basin, 
enters the Humboldt Valley, and really meets with no mountains until it 
reaches the Sierra Nevada, where a most formidable obstacle presents 
itself in a massive granite range, which, however, is crossed at an eleva- 
tion of only 7042 feet. 



THE GREAT WEST. 81 

MINERAL DEPOSITS IN THE WEST. 

According to Messrs. Blake and King, there are seven longitudinal 
zones or belts of mineral deposits in the West, following the prevailing 
direction of the mountain-ranges. Mr. King says : " The Pacific coast 
ranges upon the west carry quicksilver, tin, and chromic iron. The next 
belt is that of the Sierra Nevada and Oregon Cascades, which upon their 
west slope bear two zones, a foot-hill chain of copper-mines, and a middle 
line of gold-deposits. These gold-veins and the resultant placer-mines 
extend far into Alaska, characterized by the occurrence of gold in quartz, 
by a small amount of that metal which is entangled in iron sulphurets, 
and by occupying splits in the upturned metamorphic strata of the 
Jurassic age. Lying to the east of the zone, along the east base of the 
Sierras, and stretching southward into Mexico, is a chain of silver-mines, 
containing comparatively little base metal, and frequently included in 
volcanic rocks. Through Middle Mexico, Arizona, Middle Nevada, and 
Central Idaho is another line of silver-mines, mineralized with compli- 
cated association of the base metals, and more often occurring in older 
rocks. Through New Mexico, Utah, and Western Montana lies another 
zone of argentiferous galena-lodes. To the east, again, the New Mexico, 
Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana gold belt is an extremely well defined 
and continuous chain of deposits." 

The yield of gold and silver for the year from July 1, 1877, to July 
1, 1878, in the several States and Territories, is given by the Director of 
the United States Mint as follows : 

Gold. Silver. Total. 

California $15,260,676 $2,373,389 $17,634,068 

Nevada 19,546,513 28,130,350 47,676,863 

Montana 2,260,511 1,669,635 3,930,146 

Idaho 1,150,000 2,200,000 1,350,000 

Utah 382,000 5,208,000 5,600,000 

Arizona 500,000 3,000,000 3,500,000 

New Mexico 175,000 500,000 675,000 

Oregon 1,000,000 100,000 1,100,000 

Washington 300,000 25,000 325,000 

Dakota 3,000,000 none. 3,000,000 

Colorado 3,366,404 5,394 ,940 8,761,344 

$46,941,104 $48,601,314 $93,552,421 

The development of the gold- and silver-mines in Colorado and the 
Black Hills of Dakota has been wonderful in extent, the details of 
which are too extended for this article. 

It has usually been understood that there is no coal in the true Coal- 
measures west of the 100th meridian, but of late years a few thin seams 
of no practical importance have been reported as occurring in the south 

6 



82 THE GREAT WEST. 

and south-west. In Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Montana, and New 
Mexico vast areas are underlaid by thick beds of coal belonging to the 
Cretaceous and Tertiary groups. In Southern Colorado, New Mexico, 
and in the interior of Utah thick and important beds of coal are found 
in the Cretaceous group, while along the east slope of the Rocky chain 
in Colorado, as at Raton Hills, Canon City, Colorado Springs, Golden 
City, and northward, are numerous coal-beds belonging to the Post-Cre- 
taceous group, which are now wrought to a large extent. In the north- 
west the coal-area covers not far from one hundred thousand square miles. 
Along the Union Pacific Railroad are coal-fields of the same age, with- 
out which the railroad would be of no practical value. Not less than 
twenty thousand tons a month are mined at Evanston, Rock Springs, and 
Carbon in Wyoming Territory for the use of this road alone. From 
Coalville, Utah, no remarkable beds of coal are found along the imme- 
diate vicinity of the Pacific Railroad to San Francisco. 

The scarcity of tree vegetation over the greater portion of our West- 
ern country renders this coal of vital importance to the present and 
future industries of the great West. To show the extent to which this 
brown coal is already employed in the industries in some of the Western 
States and Territories, we may cite the following reliable statistics : In 
the year 1877 there were mined or used in California 600,000 tons; 
Oregon, 200,000 ; Washington Territory, 150,000; Colorado, 300,000; 
Wyoming, 100,000 ; Utah, 45,000. I do not know the exact amount 
for 1879-80, but do not doubt that it has more than doubled that of 
1877. From the Mining and Scientific Press for February, 1880, I take 
the following statistics of the coal-trade at Seattle, Washington Territory, 
alone. The greater portion of this coal is transported to the port of San 
Francisco. In 1871, 4918 tons; 1872, 14,830; 1872, 13,572; 1874, 
9027; 1875, 70,157; 1876, 112,734; 1877, 104,556; 1878, 128,582; 
1879, 132,264 tons; total, 590,639 tons. Although the trade in this 
lignitic or brown coal has sprung up within a few years, brought about 
largely by the extension of the system of railroads throughout the West, 
it is becoming extremely important year by year, and the absence of tim- 
ber over so large a proportion of the Western country renders its exist- 
ence a vital element of its settlement as well as its prosperity. 

FOSSILS IN THE LAKE-BASINS. 

The true brown-coal formations of the West form, as it were, the 
foundation, as well as a part, of the remarkable old estuaries or lake- 
basins that are found in every State and Territory west of the Missis- 



THE GREAT WEST. 83 

sippi. The thickest beds occur in a series of strata that seem to form a 
transition series from purely marine beds to purely fresh-water strata. 
We have already, in a preceding portion of this article, described the 
wonderful lake-basins in the vicinity of the Black Hills of Dakota, from 
the sediment at the bottom of which have been obtained the remains of 
a great variety of extinct animals, including camels, rhinoceroses, elephants, 
mammoths, turtles, birds, etc. In the Sweetwater Valley, near the Three 
Forks of the Missouri, in Oregon, California, Texas, New Mexico, and 
in Colorado, are similar lake-basins, filled with the remains of these ex- 
tinct animals. On the Laramie Plains, about Fort Bridger and far south 
on Green River, are lake-basins of older date, referred to the Lower 
Miocene or Upper Eocene, in the deposits of which have been discovered 
the abundant remains of hundreds of extinct forms of vertebrate ani- 
mals entirely distinct from those just mentioned, as of more recent age. 
The energetic explorations of Professor Cope within the past few years 
in all these remarkable localities have resulted in making known to the 
public hundreds of species of the most wonderful animal forms, a his- 
tory of which he is now preparing for publication by the United States 
government. Great quantities of fossil insects, fishes, and plants are 
found in these older lake-beds. In the South Park of Colorado and in 
the Green River group of Wyoming over a thousand species of fossil 
insects have been found, representing almost all the families of that class 
of life. These fossil insects are now in the hands of Mr. S. H. Scudder 
of Cambridge, Massachusetts, the best American authority on this sub- 
ject, and the final results of his studies will appear in a large quarto vol- 
ume— vol. xiii. of the final Reports of the U. S. Geological Survey of the 
Territories. A couple of paragraphs which appeared in the American 
Naturalist in February, 1868, from the pen of Mr. Scudder, describing a 
small collection of these fossil insects from Green River, may be quoted 
here with interest : 

" The masses of rock were crowded with remains of insects and leaves 
of deciduous trees. Between sixty and seventy species of insects were 
brought home, representing nearly all the different orders ; about two- 
thirds of the species were flies — some of them the perfect insect, others 
the maggot-like larva, but in no instance did the imago and larva of the 
same insect occur. The greater part of the beetles were quite small. 
There were three or four kinds of Homeoptera (allied to the treehoppers), 
ants of two different genera, and a poorly-preserved moth. Perhaps a 
minute Tlirips, belonging to a group which has never been found fossil 
in any part of the world, is of the greatest interest. 



84 THE GREAT WEST. 

"At the present clay these tiny and almost microscopic insects live 
among the petals of flowers, and one species is supposed by some entomolo- 
gists to be injurious to the wheat; others believe that they congregate in 
the wheat as well as in the flowers in the hope of finding food in the 
still smaller and more helpless insects which are found there. It is as- 
tonishing that an insect so delicate and insignificant in size can be so per- 
fectly preserved in these stones ; in the best specimens the body is crushed 
and displaced, yet the wings remain uninjured, and every hair of their 
broad but microscopic fringe can be counted." 

Over five hundred species of extinct forms of plants have been found, 
mostly in connection with the coal, indicating that at a comparatively 
modern period, geologically speaking, this great region, occupied with 
mountains and barren plains, was covered with forests as luxuriant as 
those of the Gulf States. These plants belong mostly to the early Ter- 
tiary period. Not unfrequently strata several feet in thickness occur, 
composed almost entirely of leaves of the fig, sycamore, willow, poplar, 
walnut, oak, etc., so well preserved that they seem to have fallen from 
their branches only yesterday. Even the delicate veins and serrated edges 
are as perfect as if pressed in an herbarium. Groves of palms waved 
their broad leaves over the ground, some of which had a spread of twelve 
feet. At the present time the true fan-palms are found only within the 
tropics. Many of the native ornamental trees and shrubs are the lineal 
descendants of the Tertiary species, and so nearly resemble the ancient 
forms that it is difficult to distinguish them. Professor Lesquereux says 
that among the genera found to be indigenous to our continent are the 
Virginia creeper (Ampelopsis) and the mulberry (Moms). Both the 
fossil species are in intimate affinity with the living ones. " They are 
seen everywhere and known and liked by everybody. The one is the 
friend of the farmer by its shade — of his children, delighted by the 
pleasantness of its fruits ; the other adorns our dwellings when allowed 
to grow in our gardens, and when left to its own work it covers with 
green foliage the dead trees and the barren rocks, tempering desolation 
and ruin by hiding them under elegant fringes and garlands painted by 
the richest colors. It is worth something to know that the origin of the 
Virginia creeper and of the red mulberry is traceable to the Tertiary 
formations of North America." The gigantic Sequoias of California 
have their ancestors in several species. 

The present scarcity of timber or forests in the Western or central 
portions of the continent at the present time is well known, and the 
question arises as to the climatic conditions which should have produced 



THE GREAT WEST. 85 

so marked a change from the luxuriant and sub-tropical vegetation of 
the modern Tertiary epoch in this region to present scarcity or almost 
entire absence over large areas. We now know that the principal winds 
come from the west and north-west, and as they pass over the summits 
of the different ranges of mountains from the Pacific coast eastward, 
laden with moisture, discharge a portion of it from summit to summit, 
until on the eastern slope the air is almost dry. The absence of timber 
is due to the absence of moisture, and the inference from the fact of the 
dense forests existing in the present mountainous districts of the West 
during the early Tertiary period is that these high summits did not then 
exist. » 

For the purpose of showing the average annual rainfall in inches in the 
different drainage-areas of the West we will state these briefly here. They 
are all well marked out. The Missouri River and its great branches, the 
Yellowstone and Platte, have their sources in the main Rocky range, and, 
gathering their waters from myriads of branches, flow at first east across 
the dry plains, and gradually turn south-east and join the Mississippi ; 
the average rainfall in the Upper Missouri drainage is eighteen inches. 
The second drainage is that of the Arkansas, farther south, which rises 
in the Sawatch and Park ranges of Colorado, flows south to latitude 38° 
30' and longitude 106°, then bends east and flows across the plains to 
unite with the Mississippi ; the average rainfall is twenty-eight inches. 
The third system of drainage is still farther south, that of the Rio 
Grande, which rises in the San Juan Mountains of Southern Colorado, 
flows south through New Mexico and between Texas and Mexico, and 
empties into the Gulf of Mexico ; average rainfall, sixteen inches. West 
of the last is the drainage of the Colorado of the West, which, rising far 
north (in its branches, the Green and Grand Rivers), near the Yellowstone 
National Park, flows south and south-west across Wyoming, Utah, and 
Arizona, and empties into the Gulf of California ; the average annual 
rainfall in this vast area is only fifteen inches. North and west of the 
Colorado drainage is the great interior basin, between the Wahsatch 
Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, with no known outlet, the great rivers 
sinking; here the average annual rainfall is only twelve inches. To the 
north is the great drainage of the Columbia, the branches of which rise 
in the main chain of the Rocky Mountains, far to the east in Idaho ; the 
average annual rainfall is only eighteen inches. There are several smaller 
areas of drainage on the Pacific coast. The limited rainfall in all these 
drainage-areas mentioned shows that successful agriculture is only possible 
with the aid of irrigation. East of the Sierra Nevada the rains are not 



86 THE GREAT WEST. 

frequent, the snows are very light, and the amount not great, so that the 
supply of water from the melting of the snows is not extensive. The 
difference between high and low water-mark in the streams is very 
great. For a short time in May and June the streams are high and 
large, but they soon dwindle greatly, and even disappear altogether. So 
little snow falls on the eastern ranges that the streams which flow into 
the plains from the east slope will not supply water to irrigate all the 
fertile land that is available for agricultural purposes, and the deficiency 
must yet be supplied by the use of artesian wells. 

The timber-line, or highest limit of tree vegetation, does not vary much 
in the main mountain-masses of the West. In Colorado and Utah it is 
from 11,000 to 12,000 feet; in Northern Wyoming and Montana, from 
8000 to 11,000 feet; on Mount Shasta, California, 8000 feet; while as 
far south as San Francisco Mountain, Arizona, between latitude 35° and 
36°, it is 11,547 feet. According to observations made up to this time, 
the timber-line is lower to the far North. Between latitude 45° and 46°, 
in Montana, it varies from 8800 to 9600 feet, while from latitude 40° 
to 35° it is quite uniformly from 11,000 to 12,000 feet. These state- 
ments may be regarded as approximately accurate, though more obser- 
vations ought to be made. 

The mean elevation along several parallels of latitude has been ascer- 
tained approximately. For instance, along the 32d parallel, between 
longitude 95° and 96°, the mean elevation is 500 feet ; the highest mean 
between 108° and 110° in the Sierra Madre plateau is 5000 feet; 35th 
parallel, first mean, 650 feet, highest mean, between longitude 107° and 
109°, at Zuni Mountains, 7000 feet ; 39th parallel, first mean, 1000 feet, 
highest mean, between longitude 105° and 107°, in the Colorado, Sawatch, 
and Elk ranges, 11,000 feet; 41st parallel, first mean, 1000 feet, highest 
mean, between longitude 105° and 107°, Laramie range and South Park, 
8000 ; 45th parallel, first mean, 1000 feet, highest mean, between longi- 
tude 108° and 110°, Big Horn Mountains and Yellowstone range, 7000 
feet ; 48th parallel, first mean, 1500 feet, highest mean, between longitude 
113° and 114°, the main mountain chain, 4000 feet. The mean eleva- 
tion of Arizona is 4200 feet; of California, 2800; of Colorado, 6600; of 
Idaho, 3800; of Montana, 3950; of Nevada, 4900; of New Mexico, 
5400 ; of Oregon, 2700 ; of Washington Territory, 1800 ; of Wyoming, 
6450. 

STOCK-RAISING. 

I have not spoken of what may form one of the most important indus- 
tries in the West, and one which is now assuming most formidable pro- 



THE GREAT WEST. 87 

portions ; and that is stock-raising. The great Plains form one great cattle- 
range. From Texas to Montana we find them dotted over with the huts 
of the ranchmen and covered with herds of cattle. They follow closely 
the retreating steps of the buffalo. So in the great valleys of Montana, 
the great valleys of California, and those of Oregon— indeed, wherever 
grass grows and hostile Indians are not too plentiful, there we find herds 
of cattle. Some of the cattle-men are very wealthy, numbering their 
cattle by the hundreds of thousands. Next to the gold- and silver-mines, 
no industry adds more to the wealth of the country than this. The de- 
mand for the foreign market has been very great, and over two million 
pounds of meat per month have been transported to Europe. 

We have touched upon but a few of the topics of interest in regard to 
our great West, either scientific or practical, but we trust we have said 
enough to convey at least a glimpse of its almost unlimited future. 



•~**ri 




THE TRIP OVERLAND 

BY CHAELES KAYMOND. 



STARTING out from Omaha, a prosperous city of twenty-one thou- 
sand inhabitants, situated upon the west bank of the Missouri, we 
set " sail " for the Far West. 

Nothing can be more delightful than a journey in a Pullman car on 
the Pacific Railroad. The rate of speed in the East, of forty miles an 
hour, renders travel tiresome, but on the Pacific road the uniform rate of 
twenty miles an hour, with the smoothness of the track, makes the journey 
a pleasure. 

The Platte Valley opens before our view. We follow the old trail, 
and enter the bottom-lands as rich as Egypt. Here Lewis and Clarke 
started out on their long journey overland in 1804. Millions of butter- 
flies, those winged flowers, met their gaze, and they christened the spot 
Papilion. The name remains, but the men have gone. The Platte 
River is over three-quarters of a mile wide, with an average depth of 
six inches, in which the old emigrants, as one told the writer, dared not 
halt or tarry in the crossing, for fear of sinking so deep in the treacherous 
sand as not to be extricated. The rapid settlement of this valley by a 
thrifty and industrious class of people makes the wilderness to blossom 
as a rose, and the thrifty towns springing up all along the line of the 
Central Pacific Railroad give token of prosperity. 

Oftentimes at night can be seen the prairie-fires so dreaded by the emi- 
grant, yet so grand when seen from the car-window as they sweep over 
the plains. 

THE PLAINS, 

which extend through Nebraska, are familiar to all persons who made 
the journey or read of the travels of emigrants in early days. We pass 
the old emigrant road, "a trail drawn across the continent, like the 
tremulous writiug of a death-warrant when Mercy holds the pen," and 

83 




DONNER LAKE, FROM THE SNOW-SHEDS. 



THE TRIP OVERLAND. 89 

we can but compare the present mode of travelling with former days. 
The contrast is marked. Nearly all the stations passed on the road 
have the same characteristics. They are of rapid growth, and have a 
population varying from several thousand to a score or less. Between 
them may occasionally be seen the prairie-dog villages and herds of 
antelope. Buffaloes have disappeared. The traveller rejoices when the 
first sight of the Rocky Mountains appears. Some people imagine that 
the mountains are almost perpendicular, and are surprised to find them- 
selves at an altitude of 6041 feet when they reach Cheyenne, having as- 
cended imperceptibly to that height, as the altitude above sea-level at 
Omaha was only 966 feet. 

Cheyenne is known as the " Magic City of the Plain," from its rapid 
growth. In July, 1867, there was one house here ; six months later there 
were three thousand houses. The mountains form a massive background. 
At present the city is prosperous, with a population of seven thousand. 

From Cheyenne the tourist can make the detour of Colorado, and no 
finer scenery can be found, while the wonderful development of the 
minerals and other material resources of the State offers strong induce- 
ments to the emigrants. 

Leaving Cheyenne, we pass through many snow-sheds, and soon reach 
Sherman, the highest point on the road, at an altitude of 8242 feet, and at a 
distance of 549 miles from Omaha. The ascent has been so gradual that 
the height can hardly be realized. From here the scenery is amazingly 
strange. Odd and fantastic shapes crowd the landscape on both sides of 
the track. The scenery is now very much changed. We pass Laramie 
City, a thriving place of three thousand inhabitants, 572 miles from 
Omaha. From here the traveller will gain new ideas of the sublimity 
of Nature in the scenery of the Rocky Mountains. 

The train West-bound leaves here in the evening. The Green River 
country, through which we pass the following day, is marked by a most 
peculiar formation. The rocks are so worn by the elements as to re- 
semble the ruins of some deserted temples or castles. Many beautiful 
impressions of fish and insects are found preserved in the sandstone. 

ECHO AND WEBER CANONS 

are perhaps the most far-famed of all the scenery on the Union Pacific, 
and crowded into a distance of sixty miles, hardly three hours' ride, Ave 
catch a glimpse of the wonderful in Nature that has not been revealed 
elsewhere. B. F. Taylor, in his admirable work, Between the Gates, thus 
describes it : 



90 THE GREAT WEST. 

" The train seems hopelessly bewildered. It makes for a mountain- 
wall eight hundred feet high, just doubles it by a hand-breadth, sweeps 
around a curve, plunges into a gorge that is so narrow you think it must 
strangle itself if it swallows the train ; red rocks everywhere huge as 
great thunder-clouds touched by the sun, and big enough for the kernel 
of such a baby planet as Mars ; monuments graven by the winds ; ter- 
races along whose mighty steps the sun goes up to bed, the glow of his 
crimson sandal on the topmost stair ; and it is twilight in the valley and 
midnight in the gorge. It is a fearful nightmare of stone giants, weird 
witches in gray groups, whispering together in the hollow winds, of the 
mountains — witches' baths for high revels; Egyptian tombs; fortresses 
that can never be stormed. Yonder, a thousand years ago, they were 
launching a ship six hundred feet high in the air, but it holds fast to the 
' ways ' still. Its stately red bow carries a cedar at the fore for a flag. It 
is a craft without an admiral. Some day an earthquake out of business 
will turn shipwright, put a shoulder to the hull, and Leviathan will be 
seen no more." But you are soon in the valley of the Weber River, and 
the cultivated fields, in contrast with the rugged scenery, appear as fair as 
the Garden of the Lord. 

Ogden, which is the junction of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific, 
is also the point where the transfer is made to visit Salt Lake City, made 
notorious as the home of the Mormons. A few days spent here can be 
most interestingly employed. The various attractions of the city, as 
Temple, Tabernacle, co-operative store, can all be seen in a day or two, 
and the journey resumed westward. 

The magnitude of undertaking the building of a railroad through this 
country is more and more impressed upon the mind, and it may be well 
to consider briefly the construction of the Union Pacific and Central 
Pacific Railroads. 

THE UNION PACIFIC 

was chartered in 1862, yet the grading was not done until 1864, and the 
first rail was laid in 1865. At that time there was no railroad communi- 
cation from the East, and a gap of one hundred and forty miles existed 
between Omaha and Des Moines. For five hundred miles westward from 
the Missouri River the country was completely destitute of timber, and 
ties were transported from six different States and Territories, at a cost 
often of two dollars and a half per tie — thus can be seen the difficulties 
encountered at the outset — yet so vigorously was the work prosecuted that 
in three years six months and ten days the road was completed. 



THE TRIP OVERLAND. 9] 

THE CENTRAL PACIFIC. 

But while the plains of Nebraska were filled with the army of work- 
men, the Sierra Nevadas were teeming with laborers on the Central Pacific. 

Though the Central Pacific was begun in 1860, several years sooner 
than the Union, yet the difficulties encountered were so much greater that 
the construction was not consummated so quickly as in the case of that road. 
The rails, cars, locomotives, all had to be transported around the Horn, 
and at one time there were thirty vessels en route from New York with 
supplies for the Central Pacific. The most serious difficulty was the 
Sierra Nevadas, but by tunnelling and blasting the way was forced through. 
More powder was expended in the effort than was needed to fight half 
the battles of the Revolution. 

In April of 1869 ten miles of the road were built in one day. This 
is probably the greatest feat of railroad-building on record. "What is 
more remarkable about it is, that eight men handled all the iron on this 
ten miles. These eight giants walked ten miles that day, and lifted 
and handled one thousand tons of rail each. On May 10, 1869, the two 
roads clasped hands at Promontory Point, and a railroad from Omaha to 
San Francisco, a distance of 2221 miles, was built in less than five years. 
Columbus, sent out by Ferdinand and Isabella to discover the Indies, 
was halted by a continent ; that continent is now spanned by a railroad. 
May not imagination picture the form of Columbus standing upon the 
summit of the Rocky Mountains, with a scroll in his hand, pointing to 
the setting sun, saying, " There is India ; there is the East " ? 

TO THE SIEREAS. 

The trip through the desert in Central Nevada is very monotonous. 
Sahara itself could not surpass the landscape in woe-begone infertility. 
This is the dreariest day of the overland trip, and should it be in sum- 
mer the traveller will find the dust very disagreeable. But the Sierra 
Nevadas, when reached, are appreciated more fully, however, for the ride 
of the past day. AV r hen evening comes the outlook is desolate and barren, 
but when the curtain of night is lifted we are in the very heart of the 
Sierras, upon which the snow falls to a depth of thirty feet, and often 
the traveller finds himself in winter when the lowlands are hot in 
August. 

At Reno the change of cars is made to visit Virginia City, the famous 
mining camp of the Pacific coast. Near here is Lake Tahoe, one of the 
finest sheets of water on the continent, and far-famed as a pleasure resort. 



92 THE GREAT WEST. 

Near Truckee the road passes Donner Lake, where a party of emi- 
grants in 1846 were overtaken by a severe snowstorm, and were com- 
pelled to spend the winter. Many perished, and dark tales are told of 
cannibalism. No one can think of this tragedy without a shudder. In 
crossing the Sierras the most famous scenery is at Cape Horn, where you 
peer down a canon half a mile below. The scenery through this region 
is grand beyond description, while a peculiar blue haze adds a charm to 
the landscape. 

We soon enter the warm lowlands, and reach the capital of the State, 
Sacramento. The population is about twenty-five thousand. The State 
Capitol building, a magnificent structure, is the most attractive object to 
visitors. To San Francisco, the Athens of the Occident, the distance is 
but one hundred and thirty-eight miles. The overland train first reaches 
Oakland, a most beautiful city of forty thousand inhabitants, and bearing 
the same relation to San Francisco that Brooklyn does to New York. 

Leaving the cars, you enter a splendid ferry-boat and cross the Bay of 
San Fraucisco, one of the finest natural harbors in the world. 

SAN FRANCISCO, 

a city with a growth of only twenty-seven years, contains over three 
hundred thousand inhabitants and covers a territory of forty-two square 
miles. It is a city of boarding-houses; not less than fifty thousand 
people eat at restaurants, and thirty thousand more at the ninety hotels 
and eight hundred lodging-houses. 

The city is celebrated for its hotels. The Palace ranks first, while the 
Baldwin, Grand, Lick, Occidental, Russ, are among the most prominent. 

The commerce of the city is very extensive, while ships from all 
quarters of the globe can be seen in its harbor. The Chinese quarter 
contains many attractions for the visitor, and will well repay a visit. 

A guide can be procured from police head-quarters, and a tour of 
"Chinatown" made in perfect safety. The most interesting objects to 
be seen are stores, shops, restaurants, and temples (or joss-houses), and 
opium-dens. The stores are open late at night, and on Sundays as well, 
and are found in one quarter crowded together. The temples or joss- 
houses, where they worship their gods or graven images, are open to the 
public, but the visitor will find the light that constantly burns within to 
be dim, though not religious. The various gods or images are placed in 
alcoves, while before them are offerings of food by their worshippers. 
Some of these temples are very gaudily and expensively ornamented. 
The theatres are a curiosity. They have no curtain, and when the play 



THE TRIP OVERLAND. 93 

ends the victims in the play are dragged from the platform, or even if 
the hero is killed in the play, he may get up and leisurely walk away. 
The orchestra sits upon the stage and discourses music during the entire 
performance, but " horrible " is the word that best describes it. The ac- 
robatic performances are really creditable, though a short stay generally 
satisfies the visitor. The opium-dens can be visited, and this debasing 
vice be seen as practised by the " heathen Chinee." 

Woodward's Garden, a combination of museum, menagerie, theatre, 
aquarium, and botanic garden, has become a favorite pleasure resort. 
The traveller should drive to the Cliff House, where the seals may be 
seen disporting upon the rocks and a splendid view of the Pacific Ocean 
can be obtained. 

There are two systems of streets, Market street being the dividing- 
line. The wholesale business of the city is done along the water-front 
and north of Market street; retail business of all kinds is found in 
Kearney, Montgomery, Third, and Fourth streets. One noticeable fea- 
ture is the number of bay-windows in the houses. So numerous are they 
that San Francisco has been aptly called the " Bay- Window City." The 
palatial residences of the railroad magnates and "bonanza" kings on 
Knob Hill are an ornament to the city. 

The climate of San Francisco is very peculiar. The coldest month is 
July, when furs and overcoats are in demand. The seasons are not 
divided as in the East, but into wet and dry. The winter is usually 
rainy, beginning about October and lasting until May, and it is dry 
during summer. 

The mornings in San Francisco are usually warm and bright, but the 
sea-breeze from the ocean, which springs up about 3 P. M., makes the 
afternoons and evenings chilly. However, on the opposite side of the 
bay, at Oakland, and in many suburban nooks where the sea-breeze does 
not reach, the climate is uniform and delightful. 

There are very many interesting excursions from San Francisco which 
can easily be made. The trip to the Geysers will occupy but a few days. 
Leaving San Francisco in the morning early, you will reach the Geysers 
late in the evening of the same day. The distance is about one hundred 
miles north, and will include a ride by steamboat, cars, and stage. The 
best time to see the Geysers is in the early morning, before the sun has 
drunk up the vapors. The ground literally boils and bubbles under 
foot. The steam issues from many holes in the earth, but they are not 
spouting springs, so that a person should not go with Icelandic pictures 
in his or her mind, expecting to see anything like them ; but a canon 



94 THE GREAT WEST. 

filled with vapor and steam boiling and bubbling, surrounded by the 
wild scenery of the mountains, makes the scene strange and weird. The 
trip can be made vid St. Helena and return by Calestoga, near where the 
Petrified Forest can also be seen. The cost of the trip is about sixteen 
dollars for fare, and time three days. 

Another pleasant excursion from San Francisco is the trip to San Jose 
(pronounced San Ho-zay), fifty miles south — one of the loveliest inland 
cities in California, with a population of twenty thousand. From here 
the distance is short to Monterey, the old capital of the State. 

But the trip to Yosemite Valley and Big Trees surpasses any other, 
and is called " the excursion " in California, and you have not seen the 
wonder of the Pacific coast till you have made this trip. The distance 
is about two hundred and forty miles, and the train leaves at 4 p. m. 
There are four different routes, any one of which is very good. The one 
to Mederia may be mentioned as an example. The train arriving in the 
evening, the traveller can enjoy a good night's rest, and then have an 
early start by stage for the valley. This occupies two days, arriving in 
the afternoon of the second day. The Big Trees can be seen en route or 
else on the return trip. They are so large that at first one does not ap- 
preciate their magnitude, and when their great age is contemplated it 
gives one a queer feeling to look at a tree that may have been waving its 
green branches high in the air before Julius Csesar landed on the shores 
of Great Britain. 

Yosemite Valley, the " Mecca of the Beautiful," will awaken new 
visions of beauty that cannot be seen elsewhere ; but as the famous resort 
has been so admirably described elsewhere in this work, a description will 
not be attempted here. The cost of the trip for fare is sixty dollars, and 
the time from San Francisco is a week to ten days. 

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND ARIZONA 

have been lately opened to public travel by the building of the Southern 
Pacific Railroad, which now extends from San Francisco to Central 
Arizona, and is being rapidly pushed forward, and will soon make a 
Southern Transcontinental route. The scenery along this highway is 
varied, as the road passes through a desert; and, what is remarkable, in 
the Tihachapi Pass, where it crosses a range of mountains, it forms a loop 
and recrosses itself, one portion of the track being far above the other. 
This is probably one of the most difficult feats of engineering in the 
world. 

Los Angeles, the metropolis of Southern California, contains about 



THE TRIP OVERLAND. 95 

sixteen thousand inhabitants, and is situated four hundred and seventy 
miles south from San Francisco. Here oranges grow in perfection, and 
all the semi-tropical fruits flourish in abundance. This city will furnish 
a pleasant sojourn for the traveller. 

Arizona, which has so long been barred to the travelling public by the 
difficulty of access to it, is now being penetrated by several lines of rail- 
roads, and this unknown part of our country will be more fully explored 
and settled in the next few years, as the recent valuable mineral develop- 
ments are attracting great attention. This State can be reached by rail 
from Los Angeles, and offers many points of interest to the traveller. 

THE TRIP TO OREGON 

can be taken by the Oregon Steamship Company's steamers, which ply 
regularly between San Francisco and Portland, sailing every five days. 
The trip occupies two to three days, as the distance is over seven hundred 
miles, but not two days on the ocean, as the Columbia River furnishes 
over one hundred miles of the voyage before reaching Portland. This 
is the route most patronized, and does the bulk of the business, but 
should the traveller prefer it the trip can be made vid Sacramento by 
railroad to Redding, and then two hundred and seventy-five miles of 
stage, which goes through some of the finest of scenery, passing Mount 
Shasta, the famous mountain of Northern California, to Roseburg, and 
thence two hundred miles by rail to Portland, the metropolis of the North- 
west. This city of twenty thousand inhabitants does more business for 
its size than any in the United States. 

The scenery of Oregon and of Washington Territory is among the 
finest in the world. The river-steamers on the Columbia are fitted up 
very handsomely, and a sail up the river will be found exceedingly en- 
joyable. The Cascades contain some wild and grand scenery. Here a 
transfer for a short distance must be made by rail, and then another 
steamer taken. Should the excursion extend to Wallula (or Walla Walla), 
the scenery will be found magnificent, and if it should be in harvest, 
when the immense shipments of wheat are made, the traveller will be 
amazed at the resources of this inland empire. 

The tide of emigration is tending strongly to Eastern Washington 
and Oregon, where the vast extent of lands adapted to wheat-raising is 
rapidly being occupied. This undoubtedly is one of the finest wheat- 
producing sections of the entire country, and railroads are being rapidly 
constructed toward this portion of the land, when in a few years several 
outlets will be given to the immense supply of surplus products. 



96 THE GREAT WEST. 

From Portland a trip can be made to Puget Sound, one of the finest 
sheets of water on the continent, and which has been well named the 
" Mediterranean of America." Seattle, which is the largest town on the 
Sound, does an extensive coal-shipping business. From here the trip 
can easily be extended to Victoria in British Columbia, which is a beau- 
tiful place of five thousand people. In this section the scenery is very 
striking and grand. The opinion is prevalent that a trip to Alaska is 
very disagreeable and unpleasant, whereas, on the contrary, it is one of 
the most delightful of summer ocean-voyages. The regular steamer 
" California " starts from Portland the first of each month, and touches at 
Victoria, B. C, on the way to Sitka. This part of the voyage is in open 
sea, but the tourist can cross the Sound and meet the steamer at Victoria, 
when the continuation of the voyage is as delightful as river-sailing. 
The inland passage, as it is called, lies between the islands and mainland 
nearly the entire distance, and mountain-peaks rising to great heights on 
either side often very near to the vessel, while waterfalls and cascades add 
new beauty to the scene, present a panorama of the beautiful in Nature 
for nearly a thousand miles, unequalled perhaps in the world save in the 
open sea of Japan. 

The town of Fort Wrangell, at the mouth of the Stickeen River, is the 
trading-post for this region and the supply-station for the Stickeen mines. 
While the ocean-steamer is landing and discharging cargo, if the traveller 
could arrange with one of the river-steamers to ascend the Stickeen River 
and see the immense glacier, one of the largest in the world, he will be 
amazed and delighted with the scenery of the trip. The voyage to Sitka, 
where many curious specimens of Indian carvings can be obtained, will 
occupy a few days longer, and the entire round trip from Portland but 
two to three weeks. 

It is impossible to fully describe the beauty of this voyage. The water 
is so smooth, the land constantly in sight, the traveller can hardly believe 
he is on the ocean. Suffice it to say that for a summer trip of a few 
weeks the voyage to Alaska cannot be surpassed, and all on board the 
California in August, 1879, will agree with the writer in this assertion. 



TO THE WEST! TO THE WEST! 

BY CHARLES MACKAY. 



To the West ! to the West ! to the land of the free, 
Where mighty Missouri rolls down to the sea ; 
Where a man is a man if he's willing to toil, 
And the humblest may gather the fruits of the soil ; 
Where children are blessings, and he who hath most 
Hath aid for his fortune and riches to boast ; 
Where the young may exult, and the aged may rest, — 
Away, far away, to the land of the West ! 

To the West ! to the West ! where the rivers that flow 
Run thousands of miles, spreading out as they go ; 
Where the green waving forests that echo our call 
Are wide as old England, and free to us all ; 
Where the prairies, like seas where the billows have rolled, 
Are broad as the kingdoms and empires of old ; 
And the lakes are like oceans in storm or in rest, — 
Away, far away, to the land of the West ! 

To the West ! to the West ! There is wealth to be won ; 

The forest to clear is the work to be done ; 

We'll try it, we'll do it, and never despair 

While there is light in the sunshine and breath in the air. 

The bold independence that labor shall buy 

Shall strengthen our hands and forbid us to sigh. 

Away, far away ! Let us hope for the best, 

And build up new homes in the land of the West ! 

7 97 



COLORADO. 

BY W. B. VICKEES, 



GENERAL HISTORY. 

EARLY in 1541 an expedition, well armed and equipped, under com- 
mand of Vasquez Coronado, a Spanish military chief, was fitted out 
by the viceroy of New Spain to explore the country lying to the north- 
ward, comprising what is now known as New Mexico, Arizona, and Col- 
orado. Previous to this, however, between the years 1530 and '40, two or 
three partial and unsatisfactory attempts had been made to explore the 
country by Friar Niza and others, who had returned to Mexico with 
highly-colored accounts, secured from Indians, of untold wealth existing 
in a section termed the " Seven Cities of Cibola." Stimulated by these 
reports, the viceroy of New Spain was induced to organize the expedition 
under Coronado, and early in January, 1541, the band of explorers, con- 
sisting of about four hundred men, many of them cavaliers of distinc- 
tion and of the best blood of Spain, left Compostella, a point on the 
coast of Mexico nearly due west from the capital, and commenced their 
journey. For a long time they kept near the shores of the Pacific 
Ocean, then made their way back into the country. On the Gila River, 
Coronado found thickly-populated settlements, but no evidence of great 
wealth. Continuing his march in a north-easterly direction, in fifteen 
days he reached Cibola, but, instead of the fabulous wealth that had been 
reported, he found a town of about two hundred inhabitants, having 
but little knowledge of any gold and silver treasure. These people were 
probably the ancestors of the present tribe of Zuni Indians. Continuing 
in a general north-easterly direction, he crossed the Rio Grande del Norte, 
and entered the San Luis Valley, making his way out over the Sangre 
de Christo Pass to the plains of Southern Colorado ; thence southward 




CLEAK ('KEEK CANON, COLORADO. 



Colorado. yy 

to Mexico, returning with a record of disappointment that resulted in an 
abandonment of all effort in that direction. 

Up to the year 1600 the territory comprised within the present limits 
of Colorado was supposed to belong to Spain, but in that year France 
claimed possession. During the seventeenth century at least three expe- 
ditions were sent into these vast and unknown regions. In 1769 the 
province was ceded to Spain by France, but in 1800 the French regained 
control, keeping it until 1803, when by treaty and purchase the United 
States became the owner of the province, and took prompt measures to 
establish its authority and government in due form over the country. 

In 1806, Major Pike, by authority of the War Department, with a 
party of twenty-three men traversed the entire extent of Colorado, 
north and south, without finding a single settlement of civilized beings; 
only the wild savages roamed over the land. In 1819, Colonel Long's 
expedition entered the country, following up the South Platte River to 
where it escapes from the canon. A careful examination was made of 
some of the mountains and of the plains from the South Platte to the 
Arkansas. In 1832, Captain Bonneville made a very thorough explora- 
tion of the Rocky Mountains in the interest of the American Fur Com- 
pany, and is said to have been the first who proved that the head-waters 
of the great rivers flowing east and west had their origin nearly together 
in the great Sierra Madres. In 1843, Colonel Fremont commanded the 
next expedition sent out by the United States government. He camped 
some time in the St. Vrain Valley, and afterward journeyed north, 
reaching Fort Laramie. He found the Indians already troublesome to 
parties who were passing through the country on their way to California. 

There is no evidence to show that there were any white settlers in Col- 
orado previous to 1843, save trappers, traders, and employe's of the Amer- 
ican Fur Company. There was no knowledge of the treasures hidden 
in the soil or in the rocks at that time. The vast country was given over 
to the savage Pawnees, Cheyennes, Arapahoes, and Utes. 

From the time of Fremont's last expedition in 1844 up to 1858 the 
country was under no regular form of government. The only recognized 
authorities were the Fur Company and the United States military, and 
these were confined to the limits of the posts and forts. 

In 1852 came the discovery of gold by one Parks, a Cherokee cattle- 
trader, who, en route to the shores of the Golden Coast with a party of 
followers, discovered the precious metal on the banks of Ralston Creek. 
Tidings of this discovery after a long time reached Georgia, and in 1858 
Russell's expedition was organized, reaching Cherry Creek in June, 1858. 



100 THE GREAT WEST. 

In the fall Russell returned to Georgia, taking with him his precious sam- 
ples and giving glowing descriptions of the country. The Pike's Peak 
excitement then began to spread, and palefaces, with immense trains of 
supplies, commenced traversing the great Plains, and disputed possession 
of the country with the Indians, who refused to recognize the right of 
the white men to occupy their vast domains. But the onward march of 
the Caucasian could not be stayed, and by the time the winter of 1858- 
59 set in settlements had been made at Auraria and other points, and at 
least four hundred persons were in the Territory. 

In the spring of 1859, Green Russell's journal was printed by Major 
D. C. Oaks, with descriptions of the best routes to the new Land of Prom- 
ise. This book, full of glowing descriptions of the Land of Gold, was 
extensively circulated throughout the Eastern States, and caused thou- 
sands to leave their homes and turn their faces westward to the land of 
untold treasures. 

The discovery of the first gold-bearing lode was made in Gilpin coun- 
ty, May 6, 1859, by John H. Gregory, and ere long the gulches were full 
of prospectors and all the mountains in the vicinity covered by eager 
seekers after the shining ore. By the spring of 1860 at least twenty 
thousand persons were scattered over the country, and the development 
of the greatest mining district in the world had begun. 

Silver ore was discovered as early as 1861, but not until 1864 was it 
actually demonstrated beyond question that there existed in this new re- 
gion of mineral wealth the richest belts of silver-mines in the known 
world; and an impetus was then given to mining enterprises that rivalled 
that of California in its early days. 

The necessity of local laws and the taking of steps to connect the 
district with some legislative body was soon apparent. A county was 
therefore defined and named Arapahoe, with Auraria as the county-seat; 
a representative sent to the Legislature of Kansas, as well as a Delegate 
to Congress to secure recognition and the establishment of a Territorial 
form of government. An organization under the name of Jefferson Ter- 
ritory was perfected and a provisional government formed. This body 
passed the act consolidating Auraria and Highland under the corporate 
name of Denver. Ditch and wagon-road companies soon followed, and 
healthy legislation prepared the way for the inauguration of a Territorial 
form of government. February 26, 1861, Congress passed an act, and 
Colorado took her place under the fostering care of the general govern- 
ment. In May of the same year the Territory had a population of 
25,329, of whom 4484 were females. In September a Delegate to Con- 



COLORADO. 101 

was elected and took his seat. Nine counties had been organized, 
and a Legislature chosen by the votes of the people. 

During the period of the war of the Rebellion the country did not de- 
velop as rapidly as might have been expected, although speculation was 
rife and very many mining companies were organized in the East, stocked 
at enormous figures, and placed on the market. The great majority of these 
came to grief, and by the year 1866 the mining-camps of Colorado wore 
a very discouraging appearance. 

In 1864 and '65 the Plains Indians inaugurated war upon the white 
settlers, and during these years numberless disasters occurred. But little 
communication could be had with the States. Stages had to fight their 
way through. Wagon-trains were attacked and destroyed, and machinery 
of immense value was abandoned in the endeavor to reach the camps. 
But the gradual advances of the Union Pacific and Kansas Pacific Rail- 
ways had their due effect, and the Indian fell back as the whistle of the 
locomotive was heard over the desolate prairies, and Civilization's finger 
pointed the savage to the parks and valleys on the western slope, where, 
by treaty, they were secured, for a time, the hunting-grounds they de- 
sired. 

In 1867 the Union Pacific Railroad reached Cheyenne, and Denver 
was thus brought within 104 miles of direct communication with the 
East. In 1868 the Denver Pacific, to connect at Cheyenne with the for- 
mer road, was begun, and finished in 1870 ; in which year also the Kan- 
sas Pacific reached Denver and the Colorado Central was constructed to 
Golden. From this date the prosperity of the country and the perma- 
nence of the towns already established were assured. Little attempt had 
as yet been made to establish any industry save mining ; but the settle- 
ment of the Union Colony at Greeley in the spring of 1870 was the in- 
auguration of a development of the agricultural resources of the country 
and an earnest of its stability. The success of this colonial experiment 
having been demonstrated, others followed in its wake — one in Wet Moun- 
tain Valley, one on the South Platte River, one in the valley of the St. 
Vrain, and one at the junction of the Monument and Fontaine-qui- 
Bouille. Towns were founded, farming settlements established, and indus- 
tries of every kind prospered. In 1871 the Denver and Rio Grande 
Railway began to feel its way southward, reaching Colorado Springs in 
the fall of that year, and in a short time afterward it was extended to 
Pueblo. 

About this time (1870) probably forty thousand people were in the 
Territory, but the means of communication being now rapid and assured, 



102 THE GREAT WEST. 

it was believed that a steady growth in population would follow ; which 
was found to be true. The mines were producing largely of the precious 
metals, the farmers rejoiced in the possession of bountiful harvests, and 
the cattle upon the Plains prospered and increased rapidly, to the delight 
of those who had invested in stock. 

In 1874-75 a second effort was made to establish a State government, 
and proved successful. On July 4, 1876, Colorado entered the Union as 
the Centennial State. 

In 1876 the Atchison and Topeka Railroad reached Pueblo, giving the 
State a third outlet to the East. The following year the Carbonate Camp 
at Leadville began to attract attention from all parts of the State, and the 
Denver and South Park road, begun in 1874, and built to Morrison in 
that year, began to reach up Platte Canon, while the Colorado Central 
had been extended to Georgetown, and a broad-gauge line built north to 
Longmont, tapping the great agricultural area of the State. The Denver 
and Rio Grande pushed its way over the Sangre de Christo range, and 
rested at Fort Garland, preparatory to reaching the shores of the Rio 
Grande del Norte at Alamosa. Meanwhile, during these years important 
geological and geographical surveys were being conducted by the United 
States government under the superintendence of Professor Hayden, and 
their reports, when published, became important factors in the develop- 
ment of the internal resources of the country, attracting the attention of 
the people of the entire Union. These reports have been of value, and 
havfc very materially aided in advancing the general prosperity of the 
country. 

The opening of the year 1880 shows Colorado to be making rapid 
strides toward the front rank as a mineral-producing region, while her 
agricultural resources are also being permanently developed. Her climate 
is the admiration of invalids, her scenery the delight of tourists. She has 
yielded out of her bountiful bosom ten billion dollars of gold and silver 
since 1859. Her real estate and personal property foot up over seventy- 
five million dollars. She has thirty-one counties, having a population of 
nearly two hundred and fifty thousand. The counties in which farming 
and stock-raising predominate are Weld, Larimer, Boulder, Jefferson, 
A rapahoe, Douglas, El Paso, Fremont, and Las Animas. Those devoted 
almost wholly to cattle and sheep are Elbert, Bent, Pueblo, and Huerfano. 
The principal mining counties are Park, Lake, Gilpin, Clear Creek, 
Summit, Custer, Hinsdale, San Juan, and Ouray. 

The growth of the cities and large towns has been proportionate with 
the general advance of the State, and everywhere new towns have been 



COLORADO. 103 

created by the extension of the railway system and the discovery of 
new mines. 

CLIMATE AND HEALTH. 

The climate of Colorado, to which so many are looking as a possible 
home, is an important topic and one to be carefully considered. A few 
statistics, therefore, gathered from the reports issued by the Signal Service 
station at Denver, will give information of value in reference to the at- 
mospheric condition of the country during the period of one year. 

The entire amount of precipitation (rain and melted snow) was 10.86 
inches. This accumulated from rains and snows, which fell on sixty-one 
days. But two storms during the year exhibited unusual severity. The 
first took place May 11th, the second July 22d. There were 190 clear 
days, 139 fair or partly clear days, and but 35 reported cloudy. The 
temperature, while it exhibited some sudden changes, was not of unusual 
range. The highest reading, 98° above zero, occurred on July 13th ; the 
lowest, 17° below, was on December 24th. During the year the ther- 
mometer read 95° or above but seven times. It read below zero on six 
days in January, one in February, and six in December — thirteen in all. 
The mean temperature for the year was 50° ; the mean for July, the 
warmest month, 74°. The last frost of spring appeared April 27th, 
while the first frost of autumn was observed October 9th. The former 
was not as late as usual, nor the latter as early as in other years. Each 
month furnished south as the prevailing direction of the wind. 

Colorado is included in the boundaries of the temperate zone. The 
Plains portion is within the isothermal lines that take in New York, 
Columbus, and Council Bluffs. The foot-hills are included in the lines 
that embrace Boston, Albany, Detroit, St. Paul's, and Omaha, The main 
range and the western half of the State show the same lines that include 
Halifax, Burlington, Montreal, the upper Lake Superior region, and the 
head-waters of the Red River of the North. But the extremes of heat 
and cold are not so great as at these points. The absence of any very 
great quantity of moisture has a wonderful effect upon the air, and Colo- 
rado is famous for its clear skies and invigorating atmosphere. The 
cloudy days are so few as to be considered a rarity. The average tem- 
perature of the Plains is from 50° to 55° ; of the foot-hills, from 45° to 
50° ; of the mountains, 40° to 45°. As has been admirably summed up, 
" The results of the climatological conditions of Colorado are an extremely 
healthful and invigorating atmosphere, peculiarly beautiful and enjoyable, 
well adapted to all pursuits and all out-door avocations." It might be 



104 THE GREAT WEST. 

added that as a health resort Colorado is without an equal for the cure 
of tubercular and pulmonary affections, asthma, and dyspepsia. 

Consumptives who reach the country before the disease has too greatly 
developed are almost certain to recover; those in whom the disease 
has advanced will find it possible to live for many years in compara- 
tive comfort and vigor. But it is unwise for those who have suffered for 
years, and in whom the insidious enemy has become deeply rooted, to seek 
Colorado expecting a cure. Confirmed cases are as hopeless as in the 
East ; in fact, the end is likely to come sooner, on account of the very 
rarity of the air and the necessity of increased respiration. These, in 
the early stages, are conducive to recovery; in the later, to a speedy 
ending of the life of the patient. 

Asthma, however, in its most aggravated form, and no matter how long 
seated, is relieved in every instance by a residence in Colorado. The 
right altitude to suit the patient's case having been found, relief is at 
once felt, and a perfect immunity from this distressing complaint may be 
relied upon as long as one remains in the country. Hence it follows 
that those who seek Colorado for relief from asthma must expect to make 
their home for life in the State. A temporary residence will not suffice, 
since the disease, apparently, is not eradicated. A return to the old home 
would carry with it a return to the old troubles in a very short time. 
The change of residence must be considered permanent, therefore, and 
those who are afflicted and would be relieved must accept this fact as 
one not to be questioned, and prepare their plans accordingly. 

Dyspepsia is one of those distressing complaints connected with the 
condition of the human system which will lead the sufferer therefrom to 
adopt any course from which relief may be obtained. The most pleasant 
sugar-coated remedy we know of is to live in Colorado, thus recovering 
the lost powers of assimilation, and in its bright days, inducing out-of- 
door exercise, and its cool nights, wherein refreshing slumber is assured, 
find a sovereign panacea for one of the most grievous ills that flesh is heir 
to. Once more may food be relished and enjoyed, and hearty meals be 
made on substantial bread, blood-invigorating beef, tempting mountain- 
trout, and juicy wild meats, without the fear of an after-punishment. 

Many other diseases that afflict humanity are partially eradicated or 
relieved by a change of residence to the altitudes of the Rocky Moun- 
tains, but it would be impossible to enumerate them all. There is an 
exception, however, it would be proper to name — catarrh. It is ex- 
tremely doubtful if the peculiar dryness of the atmosphere is favorable 
to the cure of this disease. In fact, it is asserted by high authorities that 




MOUNTAIN OF THE HOLY CROSS, COLORADO. 



COLORADO. 105 

the dryness tends to aggravate many cases by forming concretions on the 
inflamed mucous surfaces, and so irritating them. The rainfall is so 
meagre, the fine dust so common, that these are causes naturally tending 
to further the advance, rather than retard the progress, of catarrh. There 
is no country yet discovered in this world that has in it the elements of 
cure for every ill that human flesh is unfortunately subject to. When 
such a country is discovered on this habitable globe, paradise will lose 
some of its prospective charms, and the song of " I would not live 
alway" be paraphrased to suit this desirable location. 

SCENERY — CANONS OF COLORADO — POINTS OF INTEREST. 

On the upper Cache-la-Poudre may be found some very wild and ro- 
mantic spots. It is a point as yet but little known to tourists, though 
sportsmen have found that it furnishes excellent trout-fishing, with an 
occasional bear- or deer-hunt thrown in by way of giving variety to it. 
The solitude of the mighty pine forests that crowd to the very water's 
edge at occasional points has a calm delight in it that must be experienced 
to fully realize its delightful charm. Here and there beautiful parks and 
lovely meadows break the monotony of the forest, and offer a landscape 
that would tempt an artist to linger long enough to catch its beauties and 
pinion them upon his canvas. Secluded glens abound, suitable for cozy 
camping-grounds, and the murmur of the limpid waters of the Cache-la- 
Poudre, as they rush with precipitate haste to seek the bosom of the 
South Platte River, falls most musically upon the ear. A week can be 
pleasantly spent in this vicinity by those who like the silence of the 
woods for their souls and the succulent sweetness of trout for their sus- 
tenance. 

Estes Park is now rapidly growing into popular favor as a summer 
pleasure resort, and is likely to be still better known in the future. It 
is easily reached by a few hours' ride from Longmont, on the Colorado 
branch of the Union Pacific Railway. Lying at the base of Long's 
Peak, the third highest mountain in the State, Estes Park is a lovely 
emerald area hemmed in by mountains and full of meadows and groves, 
with here and there a sparkling trout-brook. To " camp out " in Estes 
Park is the height of enjoyment for hundreds of the country-people 
within fifty miles of the park, and indeed city-folks and Eastern pleasure- 
seekers are beginning to discover that out-of-door enjoyment can here be 
realized to its fullest extent at a point where "the scene is replete with 
grassy slopes, crystalline streams that course down from, the melting 
snow-banks, broad zones of pine forests, towering heights of mountains, 



106 THE GREAT WEST. 

and shady nooks." Such a spot as this is one for the tourist to linger in 
during the summer months, when numberless wild flowers burden the air 
with their perfume. 

Boulder and its vicinity are prolific in health resorts and points of 
interest to visitors in search of the elixir of life and of pleasure. At 
Springdale, near by, it possesses a spring whose waters are a sparkling 
seltzer that is very efficacious for cases of scrofula and for diseases of the 
blood, while their location, in the immediate vicinity of a large number 
of valuable silver-mines, lends them an additional attraction. But 
Boulder Canon is the admiration of all, for it has been very aptly de- 
scribed as Colorado's Yosemite. Many of the well-known places in the 
East, such as the Delaware Water-Gap, the point where the Potomac 
passes through the Blue Ridge, or even Niagara Falls, wane in grandeur 
before the scenery to be encountered at every step in this magnificent 
theatre of Nature's faultless construction. The walls stand up, at points, 
two thousand feet high, while below leap and sparkle the crystal waters 
of the stream as they hurry over the big boulders from whence the river 
takes its name, to leap into the arms of the St. Vrain, awaiting them on 
the plains below. The infinite variety of the scenery hereabout is a con- 
stant surprise ; the foliage has a beauty whose refreshing charm never 
tires ; while at the falls proper, where the water drops fifty feet from the 
rocky edge into a deep basin, above which the rocks tower in solemn 
grandeur, one can only, with hushed breath, look, linger, and admire. 
This canon has not been " written up " as much as some others in the 
State, but it is to be said in its behalf that there are few more striking in 
the points of grandeur presented. 

Clear Creek Canon is one of the most sublime of Nature's handiworks, 
and, in addition to its natural attractions, teaches a lesson by which the 
ingenuity, the persistence, and the power of man are shown by utilizing 
even the most rugged paths and almost inaccessible points for his own 
purposes. The ride by rail up Clear Creek Cafion must be made by all 
who visit the State, or they miss one of its greatest attractions. To the 
sublime scenery of the hills is added the skill of the engineer, and we 
behold Nature and art in such happy combination as we follow the serpen- 
tine track of the narrow-gauge railway up the steep declivities of the 
cafion, over beds cut out of solid granite walls, over numberless bridges 
across the same sinuous stream, that the ride to Central City is one long 
period of bewildering suspense, for we do not know what we may see 
next, and of overwhelming wonder as surprise follows surprise fasfr as 
the shadow hides the sunshine, while we glide in and out under over- 



COLORADO. 107 

hanging arches or between the rugged defiles. At times the waters of 
the stream touch the very rails our car is on ; again they are to be seen 
dashing over the stones many feet below. The number of bridges is 
about twenty-five on this short line of railway, and the changes, now on 
this side, now on the other, as we glide along over a highway of short 
tangents and numberless curves, are enough to bewilder those who are 
unaccustomed to the mountain-scenery. The climbing is at the rate of one 
hundred and seventy-five feet to the mile, and the foliage of the pines 
against the sombre gray and brown of the rocks presents a constant 
series of ever-shifting views whose beauty is as rare as it is indescribable. 
We would like to give more space to the wonderful cafions for which 
Colorado is so remarkable, but cannot. We can only say that if you 
want to see Nature in all her rugged grandeur and rude sublimity, asso- 
ciated with skill in art, in a combination of the beautiful and the useful, 
you can see her in Clear Creek Canon, and need not cross the seas to hunt 
for her among the mountains of Switzerland. 

Platte Canon is another wonder ; and mention of its name reminds us 
of the saying of some one, that " the Lord didn't make Platte Caflon ; 
it was a freak of Nature ;" and we are almost inclined to agree with him, 
for the mountain-scenery here opened up to the tourist world by the en- 
trance into and passage through Platte Canon by the Denver and South 
Park Railway is singularly unique. Here is presented mountain-scenery 
that has been, on account of its comparative inaccessibility, hitherto un- 
known. In these wilds and fastnesses are hidden scenic beauties and 
natural wonders that far exceed anything yet described by tourists and 
engineers. Twenty miles from Denver the visitor reaches the entrance 
to the canon, and from thence to the top of the pass there is a gradual 
ascent of from one hundred and thirty-seven to one hundred and fifty- 
eight feet to the mile. The curves on this road are not quite as sharp, 
nor the hills quite as high, as in Clear Creek Canon, but the angry torrent 
is here, dashing often over solid beds of rock without sand, gravel, or 
boulder. Here and there are little stretches in the stream where the 
water glides along as smoothly and as unruffled as one's thoughts glide in 
a dream where love and happiness constitute the principal charm in the 
slumberous bliss. As one has described it, "walls of granite, rising per- 
pendicularly to a height of five hundred feet in some places, to fifteen 
hundred in others, capped with columns, pyramids, domes, and grotesque 
figures resembling nothing, rise up on either side of the river, overhang- 
ing it and the puny track at their base in many places. Anon the spark- 
ling- waters of a cataract come dashing down the mountain-side from a 



108 THE GREAT WEST. 

thousand feet overhead to join the sheeny tide that murmurs its sad re- 
frain at the bottom of a gorge ; then a lateral canon is passed, glorious in 
its wealth of verdure or grim in its poverty of life ; here a grand old 
hill, exquisitely rounded and covered with a beautiful growth of pine or 
spruce ; near it a weatherbeaten mound, so thickly strewn with fallen 
timber as to suggest a mammoth game of jackstraw, with the Devil and 
his imps for players ; opposite it, mayhap, a perpendicular wall of gran- 
ite of varied hue — greenish-yellow, yellowish-pink, gray and black mot- 
tle — the ever-changing lichens lending additional beauty to its wrinkled 
front ; then a mass of gnarled and twisted granite, gnarled into twists 
and twisted out of all semblance of shape. Thus for ten miles or more 
the canon presents a panorama of Nature in her wildest, most weird, and 
grotesque moods." 

About Colorado Springs, within a radius of twelve miles, there clusters 
a greater number of natural scenic beauties than anywhere else in the 
State. These points have been written up by journalists and tourists 
and bookmakers to so great an extent that their names are familiar to 
all, and Manitou, Cheyenne Canon, Ute Pass, Garden of the Gods, Glen 
Eyrie, Queen's Canon, Monument Park, and Pike's Peak are as house- 
hold words everywhere. Manitou has become the fashionable watering- 
place of the Western continent. It has an elevation of 6321 feet in six 
miles from Colorado Springs, and has six famous mineral springs, whose 
medicinal qualities have been highly recommended. Manitou in summer 
is a rural paradise ; the waters of the Fontaine-qui-Bouille ripple music- 
ally through the romantic valley ; along the banks of the stream cotton- 
woods, pines, cedars, and willows abound, giving abundant shade, aside 
from that cast by the hills about it. In this secluded retreat charming 
cottages abound, and many of the wealthy and well-known citizens of 
the United States here seek during the summer months that recreation 
and repose so much needed by brain-workers. 

Ute Pass is a narrow roadway built almost out of perpendicular walls 
of rock and full of tiny waterfalls, where the Fontaine-qui-Bouille drops 
down from its source in the hills beyond ; but its solitude has been for 
ever destroyed by the track of the long w T agon-trains and the uncouth 
voices of rough mule-drivers en route to the Carbonate Camp. It is still, 
however, visited in the cool of the evening by the habitues of Manitou. 

The Garden of the Gods, as it is called, lies about two miles west of 
Manitou, and is easily reached ; it is a singularly picturesque spot, replete 
with interest. Two high ridges of white and red sandstone rocks rise 
perpendicularly in air about three hundred feet high, forming a sort of 



COLORADO. 109 

amphitheatre, the entrance to which is an opening in rocks but a few rods 
apart. There is a weird grandeur about this spot suggesting natural forces 
that must, in ages long past, have mingled and combated with fiery en- 
ergy to leave behind them such monuments of fantastic shapes. 

Cheyenne Canon is some seven miles south of the city of Colorado 
Springs, and a carriage-drive there gives one an opportunity to explore 
the quiet beauty and enjoy a few hours of unmixed pleasure. The path 
up the canon is intricate, and can only be made on foot, but it will amply 
repay those who find their way to the foot of the seven falls to watch the 
ribbons of liquid silver unfurl and droop downward to the basin waiting 
to gather and hide them in its bosom for a moment, and then send them 
coursing down over the stones to the outlet beyond. 

Glen Eyrie, the summer residence of Gen. William J. Palmer, Presi- 
dent of the Denver and Rio Grande Railway, is a lovely dell, full of 
points of interest and beauty, especially Queen's Canon, with its charm- 
ing waterfalls, Hebe's Bowl, tiny rivulet, and rugged scenery. 

Monument Park takes its name from the many remarkable forms 
carved out of sandstone in days agone by. Scores of columns can be 
found standing, alone, in groups, and in combined masses, each one sur- 
mounted with a cap of some harder material, probably sand cemented 
with oxide of iron, and so more capable of resisting erosion. Air, rain, 
snow, water, have left behind them a record full of curious interest to 
the tourist, of study to the geologist, in these monuments, and the visitor 
can take unqualified delight in tracing beast, bird, man, woman, cathedrals, 
groups of statuary, and the multifold forms of art and Nature in these 
grotesque formations. 

Canon City is the warder of a combination of canons whose natural 
beauty borders on the sublime. These canons and gorges are full of 
pleasure to all who take delight in beholding the wonderful beauties of 
Nature in all her ruggedness of repose. AVe can touch but briefly upon 
a few of these. Grape Creek Canon is named from the vines that hang 
so abundantly upon its crags, and the defile is singularly beautiful ; its 
sides present rocks with all the colors of the rainbow, lifted up to various 
heights, and of all shapes, some of them extremely grotesque. Temple 
Canon, entered from Grape Canon, has thus been described : " Nature 
has carved a wondrous structure which is an exact counterpart of what 
we mortals know as a theatre. Before a broad floor there stands an im- 
mense stage, with a flat and flies and wings and dressing-room ; while the 
broad plateau in front makes an excellent orchestra, and one may readily 
find room for the fancy that the ledges towering hundreds of feet above 



110 THE GREAT WEST. 

may, in some distant age, have been used as galleries for low-grade gods 
who wished to see the play." Oak Creek Canon, fifteen miles distant, is 
another point replete with interest ; and when the tourist reaches Curios- 
ity Hill he finds it aptly named, inasmuch as it is covered with all sorts 
of odd and unique specimens of minerals of more or less value. By the 
use of the pick or by blasting crystals of remarkable beauty are found 
imbedded in agate of various colors. Oil Creek Canon takes its name 
from the evidences along its banks of the presence of petroleum. Its 
rocks are full of strange formations that suggest many familiar forms to 
the beholder. It has been described as a great natural art-gallery, full of 
fortifications, of pictures, and of sculptured figures. 

There are other points of interest in this vicinity that we might name 
had we space, such as Marble Cave, Talbot Hill, and the celebrated coal- 
mines, where one can ride for miles through the drifts on a small wooden 
car, deep down in the bowels of the earth and away from the bright, 
warm sunshine and the sweet influences of the outer world. The dark- 
ness suggests that gnomes might well abound in such a locality, and 
spring out at any moment to demand toll of the helpless victim caught 
in the darkness and the gloom of their underground hiding-place. 

The Grand Canon of the Arkansas and the Royal Gorge are now open 
to the raihvay-travel of the country, and one can stand upon the brink 
of vast precipices and gaze down two thousand feet — so far that it is 
almost impossible to see the foamy current of the Arkansas River as it 
rushes in tumultuous torrents over its " cribbed, cabined, and confined " 
narrow bed. In this deep defile the sunshine seldom penetrates, and the 
blue sky is as much a novelty as a pencil of sunshine would be suddenly 
streaming through a keyhole into a cell to its solitary occupant. The old 
way of seeing the canon was from above, but its sublime grandeur is 
heightened by observations within its defiles. One can look up without 
dizziness, but to look down is often dangerous ; one glance is sufficient to 
many who are not counted timorous. To look down a perpendicular 
wall two thousand feet is no trifling performance. Looking up, one sees 
" overhanging crags, black and blasted at their summits, reaching up into 
profoundly dizzy heights, while monstrous rocks threaten to topple down 
and carry to destruction any foolhardy climber who would venture upon 
them." More of awe than admiration is excited by a visit to this canon 
and gorge. The tremendous forces of Nature, as displayed in this bit of 
her handiwork, are calculated to impress solemnity upon the mind of 
the beholder ; for, added to the sublimity, there is a certain underlying 
sense of danger in the situation that makes one ever cautious of speech 



COLORADO. Ill 

in a defile where sound can dislodge a fragment of rock and send it hurt- 
ling down to the ground on which stands the awestruck visitor. 

La Veta Pass is another point of exceeding great interest. One must 
have seen the mountain-regions in the early days in Colorado, when " bull- 
teams " and " prairie-schooners " were the only conveyances within the 
reach of the traveller, to fully appreciate the ease, convenience, and swift- 
ness of travel in these railway eras. One of the finest rides in the world 
— rivalling, and perhaps excelling, the famous scenery in the gorge of 
the Wahsatch range lying south of Salt Lake — is found in the enchanting 
trip from La Veta, a cozy little village lying at the feet of the Spanish 
Peaks, over the celebrated Sangre de Christo range to the summit, from 
whence the road runs down to the valley of the Rio Grande del Norte. 
It is one of bewildering beauty, and has called forth the encomiums of 
talented writers and of people of all grades and professions. One is lost 
in wonder at the skill displayed as seemingly inaccessible heights are 
scaled and the gallant little engine puffs and pulls its train around Mule- 
shoe Bend, where it takes a run of two miles to gain a distance of one 
quarter and four hundred feet in elevation. From La Veta to Garland 
the ride may be denominated one magnificent panorama of natural beauty, 
changing as the conformations of the kaleidoscope change. Here are to 
be met towering and storm-splintered crags, whose vast masses of prim- 
itive porphyry tell a silent but suggestive story of the days when the 
fiery element forced them upward into the atmosphere. In the distance, 
like a dream of glory, Sierra Blanca lifts its eternal snow-covered sum- 
mit to the empyrean, 14,464 feet above the level of the sea, the superb 
culmination of that mighty accumulation of mountain-ranges known as 
the Sangre de Christo. The pass at its summit is 9339 feet, and the 
Denver and Bio Grande Bailway was the first in the United States to 
attain such an elevation. In a distance of a little over fourteen miles an 
elevation of 2250 feet is reached. In order to make the comparison 
clearer, we will mention that the elevation at the summit is one mile 
higher than at Pueblo, while Blanca Peak towers still a mile higher. 

Buena Vista is the latest candidate for the favor of the tourist, and 
during the coming season of travel will claim, and readily obtain, its 
share of attention. It is located on both sides of Cottomvood Creek, 
near where it empties into the Arkansas, and at the entrance to a pleasant 
valley opening out on a plateau some five miles wide. A park containing 
a large lake has been set apart for public use, and sailboats are kept for 
the accommodation of visitors. Good hunting and fishing are in the im- 
mediate vicinity, while five miles from the town are the celebrated Cotton- 



112 THE GREAT WEST. 

wood Hot Springs, becoming favorably known for their efficacy in curing 
rheumatism and neuralgia in their most aggravating forms. In the im- 
mediate vicinity are some of the noblest mountain-peaks of the mighty 
range, lifting their summits up to the clouds. There is but little doubt 
that Buena Vista, with its splendid site, beautiful scenery, close prox- 
imity to first-class hunting- and fishing-grounds, located at the junction 
of two railroads, which here intersect each other, will in the near future 
make this the tourist-town of the Arkansas Valley. 

Ten-Mile Canon lies midway between the passes on the grand conti- 
nental Divide, covering a distance of perhaps twenty miles. The railroad 
projected from Georgetown to Leadville will pass through it. To the 
tourist the views hereabout will be at once entrancing and bewildering, 
for here Nature has grouped her wonders into a scene of lavish and pic- 
turesque confusion. The canon is destined in the near future to be one 
of the most popular resorts in the mountains. The landscape is singularly 
broken and strikingly picturesque. A writer in describing this canon, of 
which comparatively little is known, says : " What a storm is to the ele- 
ments the canon is to the surrounding scene. It stands alone and apart 
from all the rest — a rugged defile dropped in the midst of the rugged 
mountains. Led into it by the ripple and flash of foam-crested waters, 
one pauses in the midst of miniature cascades to watch through the spray- 
laden air the grand ascent of the rocky barriers which shut it in. Thou- 
sands of feet in air they rise precipitously, not swart and black as other 
ramparts do, but variegated as the colors in a picture ; on a ground of 
glittering white are veins of crimson, blue, and gold ; the rocks mirror 
on their surface all the colors of the rainbow. Artists would call it a 
mountain-gorge shut in by Avails of variegated marble. It looks like 
layers of distinct and curious formations. But in one rock, a vast mass 
of veined granite, it catches and reflects every shade of light. Mirrored 
on its surface, the sun waves back in glittering landscapes of quivering 
shade. The spray, cast by the dash and splutter of the waters as they 
foam and lunge over rocky and abrupt declivities, rises like a veil of 
mist. The sun, glancing from the overhanging crests, mirrors the scene 
and catches the various shades and lights as in a prism of wonderful and 
indescribable beauty. Crowning them like a cross, midway the gorge, 
rise two columns named Loveland Peaks, twin sentinels of the rugged 
scene. On the summit of a mountain ten thousand feet in air, they 
shoot up the rugged surface like momentous spires in the midst of deso- 
late surroundings. Hundreds of feet above the tallest peaks, they stand 
desolate and grand as Egyptian pyramids — tall columns which catch and 



COLORADO. 113 

reflect every slanting ray of light. Some day the tourist will make this 
Colorado scene his Mecca, as the Moslem turns to the shrine of his faith, 
watching in the day's decline the wonderful spectacle of sunshine and 
shadow, and the weird, rugged sublimity of mountain-gorge, materializing 
a dream of beauty which far outstrips the achievements of the painter's 
pencil." These scenic beauties will be open to the tourist world when 
the High Line road reaches out from Georgetown over the range, and 
opens up the profuse and elaborate scenery to the traveller, mingling the 
thrilling with the beautiful in the grand panorama of our mountain- 
attractions. 

PARKS AND RIVERS OF COLORADO. 

A peculiar feature of the State is its mountain-girt parks. These are 
great basins, with surface and soil more or less similar to that of the 
Plains, but surrounded by lofty mountains whose elevation reaches from 
seven to ten thousand feet above them. These parks are generally well 
watered, abundantly timbered, and abounding in springs containing 
mineral waters. 

There are four great parks, separated from each other by narrow but 
lofty mountain-ranges. The entire chain can be easily traversed, and as 
they abound in fish and game, and present some of the most varied, 
romantic, and beautiful scenery imaginable, it will be seen that they are 
points of great interest to tourists and hunters. 

North Park is near the northern boundary of the State. Within it the 
North Platte River takes its rise. It is a circular basin some thirty miles 
in diameter, and is the most timbered and lofty of the parks. It has not, 
as yet, attracted much attention ; still, its points of interest are not easily 
excelled elsewhere, and there is a possibility of vast mineral resources 
lying hidden within the hills that surround it. There are, as yet, but 
few settlements within its boundaries. It is easily reached from Fort 
Collins, on the Colorado branch of the Union Pacific Railroad. 

Middle Park adjoins it, and is very much larger. It has a diameter of 
about fifty miles. It is drained on the west by Grand River, whose exit 
is by a canon of sublime depth and awful grandeur. Spurs of lofty 
mountains shoot far out toward its centre. Hot Sulphur Springs in the 
middle of the park is quite a summer resort. Some considerable settle- 
ments have been established within the park, and it is reached by a line 
of stages from Georgetown. 

South Park, by the advent of the Denver and South Park Railway, 
that traverses its entire length, is now beginning to be well known. In 



114 THE GREAT WEST. 

it the South Platte takes its rise. It is about forty miles wide and seventy 
miles long. Its central basin is one vast meadow, capable of sustaining 
millions of cattle. Its rim and its spurs abound in gold- and silver- 
mines. 

San Luis Park lies in the extreme southern part of the State, and is 
the lowest in altitude, while it is the longest in extent, of the four great 
parks. It is drained by the Rio Grande del Norte, which flows in a 
southerly direction through it, and thence in a south-easterly course seeks 
the Gulf of Mexico. This park has always been the favorite place of 
settlement for the Mexican population of the State, but the advent of the 
Denver and Rio Grande Railway into it, and the consequent entrance of 
a thrifty white population, are rapidly driving this shiftless class into 
New Mexico, and replacing them with the elements that go to strengthen 
and exalt society and the State. The farming resources of San Luis 
Valley are vast and of untold value. In the years to come it will be 
a beehive of agricultural industry. 

There are hundreds of other parks, varying in size from ten to a thou- 
sand acres, scattered all over the State. Estes Park, perhaps, might be 
mentioned as one of the largest of this coterie of cozy nooks hidden in 
the hills. Through it visitors pass to make the ascent of Long's Peak. 
In its mountain-streams are abundance of trout, while all kinds of game 
can also be found in it. It is a favorite resort for tourists, and is reached 
by rail to Longmont, and thence by an easy coach-ride of five hours. 

The principal rivers of the Plains region of Colorado are the South 
Platte and the Arkansas. These have their sources in the mountains, 
and as they reach the Plains are fed by many small streams. The first 
drains the South Park and the range from Denver north to the boundary 
of the State. Its source is near Mount Lincoln, and its principal branches 
within the park are High, Little, Platte, Trout, and Tarryall Creeks. Its 
general course is in a north-easterly direction, and after it leaves the canon 
its principal affluents are Bear, Turkey, Clear, Ralston, St. Vrain's, Coal, 
Boulder, Left-Hand, Big and Little Thompson, and the Cache-la-Poudre. 
The valley of the South Platte, from its exit from the canon to where it 
leaves the State, is two hundred and fourteen miles long, with an average 
width of two miles, containing about four hundred square miles of bottom- 
land. The main stream, with its branches, is supposed to carry water 
enough to irrigate about fifteen thousand square miles of arable land, on 
the supposition that three cubic feet per second will irrigate one square 
mile. 

The Arkansas River rises near Tennessee Pass, flows through small 



COLORADO. 115 

valleys and canons — the main one being the celebrated canon of the 
Arkansas — in a general southerly direction until it reaches La Junta, 
where it turns east and leaves the State. A number of short streams 
contribute to its volume of water in the mountains. The most important 
of these are Grape, Texas, Chalk, Cottonwood, Elbert, Oil, Currant, 
Badger, Trout, and the South and East Arkansas. On the Plains it 
receives the Purgatoire, Apishpa, Huerfano, Cucharas, St. Charles, Green- 
born, Hardscrabble, Fontaine-qui-Bouille, and Monument, The area of 
arable land and of its branches has been estimated to be nearly two thou- 
sand square miles ; these valley-lands are not cultivated so extensively as 
are those on the South Platte and its branches, but attention is being 
drawn to them as equally desirable for agricultural and horticultural 
purposes. 

The Rio Grande del Norte heads in the heart of the San Juan Moun- 
tains. From the great snowfields and the abundant rainfall of these high 
mountains the stream grows rapidly, and when it enters the valley. of San 
Luis Park it is one of the largest streams in the State. Here several 
good-sized tributaries add to its volume. The principal ones are the 
Alamosa, La Jara, Conejos, Rio San Antonio, Trinchera, Culebra, and 
Costilla. The agricultural capabilities of this stream and its branches 
are measured solely by the supply of water. The soil being of a more 
sandy nature, a larger amount of water is required than in the northern 
part of the State, and five cubic feet per second has been allowed in this 
estimate. About eight hundred square miles of land are capable of being 
supplied with water enough for cultivation. The San Luis Valley is 
now mainly given over to grazing, but it is beyond question that it will 
yet be the garden-spot of the State. 

The San Juan River drains the southern slopes of the San Juan Moun- 
tains, and the land capable of being utilized is distributed in narrow belts 
in and near the mountains. Its main branches are the Piedra, Los Pinos, 
Las Animas, La Plata, and Mancos. These have more or less of culti- 
vated land, supporting a population mainly composed of Mexicans. 

The Grand River heads among the snowfields of the western slope of 
the front range in Middle Park. It covers a drainage-area of over 
twenty-two thousand square miles. Its principal tributaries in the park 
are North Fork, Willow, Troublesome, Muddy, Frazer, Williams, and 
the Blue. All of these are in valleys of more or less width, but contain- 
ing little arable land, principally lying on the Frazer and the Blue. A 
succession of short caflons follow until the Gunnison is reached. 

The Gunnison River heads in the Sawatch range, and has for its tribu- 



116 THE GREAT WEST. 

taries Tomichi, White Earth, Lake Fork, Cebolla, Uncompahgre, Dolores, 
and San Miguel Creeks. All of these branches have more or less irri- 
gable areas, while the Gunnison proper, in what is known as the Uncom- 
pahgre Valley, has an abundance of land and water. 

The White River has its rise in high plateaus which reach the timber- 
line. Its course is westward, and it flows in a narrow valley limited by 
canon-walls. Its arable belt of land is extremely small, except at the 
point where the White River Agency is located, where it branches out 
into a belt five miles wide and about the same in length. It has not 
land enough to use up the flow of water. 

The Yampah River heads in Egeria Park, flowing north for about 
thirty miles, then turning to the west. Its main branches are the Little 
Snake, Elkhead, and Sage. It is stated that there is an arable area of 
about three hundred and fifty square miles in this valley and its tribu- 
taries, with an abundance of water for all that can be cultivated. 

RESOURCES. 

Arapahoe county includes a strip of country about thirty miles wide 
and one hundred and seventy-five miles long, with its eastern limit at the 
Kansas State line, and is entirely upon the Plains. It possesses no min- 
eral deposits save coal, and but little timber. Its agricultural industries, 
however, are of great importance, and are likely to become still more so 
by the completion of a canal of immense size and length called the Platte 
Canal. The soil is well adapted to the growth of all the cereals and veg- 
etables, while in the vicinity of Denver considerable attention has been 
paid to fruit-raising. Denver is the principal city, and as a mercantile, 
manufacturing, and railway centre contributes greatly to the wealth of 
the country. Of Denver we treat more fully under a separate head. 

Littleton, Petersburg, Brighton, Box Elder, and Deer Trail are small 
villages in Arapahoe county, and the centres of agricultural and stock 
interests. The amount of land returned last year as in cultivation in the 
county was 131,424 acres, at a valuation, including improvements, of 
$2,583,255, but the taxable wealth of the whole county is set down at 
$31,000,000. 

Bent county comprises a district sixty-eight miles wide and one hun- 
dred and eight long, and is one of the great grazing-districts of the State. 
It is but sparsely settled, and at present cattle- and sheep-raising are its 
principal resources. But the Arkansas River runs through the southern 
half of its limits, and the land is well adapted to cultivation. The 
Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe* Railway runs through it, and at La 



COLORADO. 117 

Junta a branch goes down to Trinidad. West Las Animas is the coun- 
ty-seat and principal town. The Las Animas River empties into the 
Arkansas at this point, and the lands in this valley are occupied by quite 
a thrifty class of farmers. The taxable wealth of the county amounts to 
$5,000,000. 

Boulder county is part plains and part mountains, the latter predom- 
inating. It is one of the best developed and richest counties, aside from 
Arapahoe, in the State. Its fertile valleys are filled with industrious 
husbandmen, while its hills and mountains are stocked with precious 
metals. Gold, silver, iron, coal, — these are the principal resources. Here, 
in this county, the first discovery of gold was made (in 1858), and its 
belt of mines extends the entire length of the county, while its silver- 
mines include the world-renowned Caribou and others of well-known 
value. Long's Peak lies within its borders, while the valleys of St. 
Vrain, Boulder, Left-Hand, and Ralston enrich its eastern limits with 
extensive tracts of arable land, all well dotted over with the comfortable 
homes of well-to-do farmers. The coal-beds of Boulder county are no 
unimportant item of its resources. They underlie the whole eastern 
strip, and are worked at several points, yielding the finest coal found in 
the northern part of the State. Fire and potters' clays also exist. An 
abundance of timber is in the mountains. Excellent water-power, beau- 
tiful scenery, a healthy climate, vast mineral deposits, unrivalled agricul- 
tural facilities, — these place Boulder county in the front rank of the coun- 
ties of Colorado, ensuring it a career of future prosperity. At present, 
its mines, like those of the San Juan, are not attracting the attention they 
deserve ; but when the carbonate fever is over the lodes in this district 
will be a permanent source of wealth to their fortunate owners. 

The area of the county is about nine hundred square miles. The prin- 
cipal towns are Boulder, Longmont, Valmont, Louisville, Sunshine, 
Jamestown, Gold Hill, Salina, Ni Wot, and Pella. Farming-lands were 
returned last year by the assessor at a valuation of a million and a half 
of dollars on 127,485 acres, while the entire valuation of the county 
foots up to nearly $7,000,000. 

Clear Creek county three years ago was the principal silver-produ- 
cing county in the State. The Leadville district leads in the race now, but 
the silver-mines of this county are still being worked to a considerable 
extent, and constitute the principal resources of the district. It is a small- 
sized county, 15 by 35 miles, full of good water-power and excellent 
mill-sites, with some little agricultural land ; but mining, milling, man- 
ufacturing, and grazing are the main reliance of its inhabitants. Clear 



118 THE GREAT WEST. 

Creek is the principal stream, but this has numerous branches, flowing 
through ranges of mountains traversed by belts of silver- and gold-lodes 
and covered with timber. Clear Creek Canon is referred to elsewhere. 
The principal towns are Georgetown, Idaho Springs, Empire, and Silver 
Plume. The narrow-gauge system of railway reaches Idaho Springs and 
Georgetown, and is likely to be extended beyond the latter point, over 
what is known as the High-Line route, to Leadville. The real estate 
and personal property of the county foots up to nearly $4,000,000. 

Chaffee county is one of the latest formed counties in the State, having 
the Saguache range for its western boundary and the Park range for its 
eastern. Leadville lies directly north, in the adjoining county of Lake. 
The Arkansas River runs through it north and south. Gulch-, placer-, 
and lode-mining are carried on to some extent. Some noble mountains, 
such as Mounts Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Shavano, are within its 
boundaries. The town of Buena Vista, founded last year, is attaining 
considerable prominence as a business-centre, while its nearness to some 
famous hot springs on the Cottonwood, about ten miles away, will tend 
to make it a resort for invalids. Cleora and Granite are promising towns 
in this county. 

Conejos county is one of the somewhat isolated districts of the State. 
Railway communication ends at Alamosa on its eastern border, but the 
bed of the Denver and Rio Grande Railway is graded to Conejos, the 
county-seat, and the cars will reach it before the year is ended. The re- 
sources of the county are almost wholly undeveloped. Alamosa is its 
principal town, and an extensive trading business is carried on with the 
mountain-regions on the west. It is also the present shipping-point for 
the trade with New Mexico. The celebrated Pagosa Springs are in the 
western part. It has a large number of villages or plazas, wherein Mexi- 
cans cluster. Nearly one-half of the county is forbidden ground for the 
white man, being in the Ute Reservation. There is a large area of well- 
watered and arable land, but thrifty and enterprising people are needed 
to develop the at present hidden resources. The taxable property last 
year amounted to only $750,000. 

Costilla county is in the San Luis Valley, and has the Rio Grande 
del Norte for its western boundary, while the railway runs through it 
from east to west. It boasts of the highest mountain in the range, Mount 
Blanca. It has within it several small streams, principally the Costilla, 
Culebra, Trinchera, and Sangre de Christo, in whose valleys more or less 
rude agricultural pursuits are followed by the residents, who are mainly 
Mexicans, and whose principal industry is the raising of a few sheep, 



COLORADO. 119 

horses, goats, asses, and cattle. Fort Garland, an important military post, 
is in this county. There are large areas of arable land susceptible of cul- 
tivation for cereals by irrigation-canals from the Rio Grande River, but 
they must await the coming of a thriftier set of people than the Mexi- 
cans, who now are in the majority. The taxable wealth of the county is 
returned at a little over a million of dollars. 

Custer county has within its borders Silver Cliff, whose importance as 
a mineral district is beginning to be recognized by the outside world. The 
Sangre de Christo range is its western boundary, while in the south-east 
rise the Wet Mountains, giving a name to the valley between, whose pas- 
toral and farming resources are very large, though as yet but scantily 
developed. Silver Cliff, Rosita, Ula, and Colfax are the principal towns. 
The mines in the vicinity of the two first named have been demonstrated 
to be of extraordinary richness, and their development will make the dis- 
trict a point to which prospectors and capitalists will be directed. 

Douglas county lies south of Arapahoe, and is traversed by the Den- 
ver and Rio Grande Railway. In connection with Elbert county, on the 
east, it takes in what is known as the " Divide " country, a belt of high 
land separating the valley of the South Platte from that of the Arkansas. 
It is a timbered region, with some stock-raising and agricultural resources. 
Farming is carried on here without irrigation, the altitude conducing to 
frequent rainfalls during the growing season. It is becoming noted as a 
dairying district, springs and sheltered places abounding on either slope 
of the Divide. Several small streams course through it, but they furnish 
no reliable water for irrigating purposes. The principal towns are on the 
line of the Denver and Rio Grande Railway. Castle Rock is known for 
its extensive stone-quarries, and furnishes this material in abundance for 
the Denver market. The iron ore of Douglas county, when developed, 
will be one of its principal resources. At present stock-raising and 
agriculture predominate. 

Elbert county is a cattle county, lying east of Douglas and taking in 
part of the Divide. The Kansas Pacific Railway runs through it in a 
south-easterly direction, and the main settlements are along the line of 
the road. Cattle and sheep are the principal industries, though some 
attention is paid to dairying and farming in the western part. The tax- 
able wealth of the county is $300,000. A considerable portion of the 
lands are unsurveyed, and are the roaming-grounds of the antelope and 
buffalo. 

El Paso county is the leading sheep-raising district in the State, 
returning nearly one hundred and twenty-five thousand in 1879. It has 



120 THE GREAT WEST. 

Pike's Peak, Manitou, Monument Park, the Petrified Forest, Cheyenne 
Cafion, and the Garden of the Gods as points of interest for tourists. 
The Fontaine-qui-Bouille, a tributary of the Arkansas, is the main 
stream within its borders, and in its valley lie some choice tracts of 
farming-land. But there is a general lack of water for irrigation, and 
this county cannot look forward to any great agricultural development 
unless artesian wells are demonstrated to be feasible. The western part 
of the county is mountainous, but there have been, as yet, no discoveries 
of minerals of any great value. Its wealth is in its plains, where a 
million sheep could find sustenance, and in its beautiful city of Colorado 
Springs and the numberless attractions in that vicinity, that draw yearly 
a steady stream of visitors. The taxable wealth is between five and six 
millions of dollars. The Denver and Rio Grande Railway runs through 
it from north to south, and there are several stations — Monument being 
the principal one — of more or less importance on the line of the road. 

Feemont county. — The Arkansas River passes through the entire 
length of this county. It is one of the most promising in the State, 
comprising as it does within its boundaries coal, gypsum, iron, marble, 
alum, petroleum, and some of the finest fruit-lands in the State. The 
coal of Canon City is a bituminous coal of superior quality, and cannot 
be mined in sufficient quantities to meet the demand. The Grand Canon 
of the Arkansas is reached from Canon City, and is one of the wonders 
of the Western World. Soda springs abound within its borders. One 
of the main highways to Leadville runs through it. Considerable atten- 
tion has been paid to fruit-culture in the valley of the Arkansas east of 
Cafion City, and it boasts the largest apple-orchard in the State, yielding 
over two thousand bushels last year. Grapes grow in abundance, while 
the foot-hills are full of wild fruit. Fremont county boasts a real and 
personal property of two and a half millions, which is destined to rapidly 
increase. 

Gilpin county is the smallest political subdivision of the State, but 
one of the most important, and embraces within its limits the richest 
gold-mining region in the Rocky Mountains, and perhaps in the world. 
Broken by mountain-ranges and their intervening gulches and chasms, 
it is rich in the precious metal. Its mountains are covered with forests 
of pine, and its rugged ravines hide rippling waterfalls and grass-covered 
bottoms. 

Central City, Black Hawk, Nevada, and Rollinsville are the principal 
towns, the two first being surrounded and traversed by belts of gold- 
mines, while in the immediate vicinity are gulch- and placer-diggings 




WILLIAMS CANON, COLORADO SPRINGS. 

BY THOMAS MORAN. 



COLORADO. 121 

that have yielded millions of dollars' worth, and will yet yield millions 
of dollars' worth more. The mercantile and commercial interests of the 
county are important, and are skilfully managed by a class of merchants 
and business-men possessing unusual enterprise and ability. The alti- 
tude of Central City is eight thousand three hundred feet, while the 
average of the county reaches nine thousand. The climate of the district 
is mild and healthy. Railway communication is had by the narrow- 
gauge system, and the ride from Black Hawk to Central, where several 
miles are traversed to gain one in distance, is one of the grandest in the 
world. 

Grand county lies in the northern part of the State, between Larimer 
and Routt. It comprises within its borders North and Middle Parks 
and the Rabbit Ear range of mountains, in which some silver-veins have 
been discovered. The famous Hot Sulphur Springs are in the last-named 
park. The North Fork of the Grande, the North Platte, and the Cache- 
la-Poudre Rivers have their rise in the centre of the county. It is a 
region of vast possibilities, and may yet become renowned for its mineral 
deposits. Middle Park and the Hot Sulphur Springs are reached by 
coach from Georgetown — North Park from Fort Collins, on the Cheyenne 
branch of the Colorado Central Railroad. 

Gunnison county. — "To Gunnison?" is to be the rallying-cry of 
thousands this season, who hope to find fabulous wealth within its hidden 
defiles and bosky dells. It has within its boundaries noble rivers of 
which but little is known, while countless smaller streams traverse the 
valleys of this comparatively terra incognita of Colorado. To reach it a 
lofty range of mountains, whose passes are always full of snow, must be 
crossed. The Elk Mountains are on the eastern boundary, while stretch- 
ing far to the west are mighty ranges whose resources will not be defi- 
nitely known until the Indians are driven out of the country and white 
men allowed to enter and explore them. In a number of districts bor- 
dering on the reservation mineral veins of value have been found, but 
their richness and importance have not been thoroughly demonstrated. 

Hinsdale county is part and parcel of the San Juan country, and is a 
region laboring under the general disadvantages made up of difficult 
mountain-ranges, remoteness from railway communication, and want of 
confidence of capitalists to invest in mines at such a distant point. But 
the county is undeniably rich in mineral wealth, and Lake City, its cap- 
ital, is the centre of an important silver-producing district. Smelting- 
works have been put in, and are in successful operation. The taxable 
wealth of the county is set down at $1,000,000. 



122 THE GREAT WEST. 

Huerfano county lies in the southern part of the State, and takes its 
name from the river that runs through it, and which, with the Cucharas 
and Apache, gives valleys in which about forty thousand acres of choice 
agricultural land await a better development than the present population 
— which is mainly of Mexican descent — is likely to give it. At present 
cattle- and sheep-raising is followed. Corn can be grown in great abun- 
dance, and the soil seems to be admirably adapted to its cultivation. Am- 
ber cane would be a good crop, and will probably be one of the important 
industries of the county in the near future. The Spanish Peaks are on 
its southern line, and on these some silver-mines are being worked to 
good advantage ; but it cannot be said that much attention is being paid 
to the metals that may exist in the mountainous portion of the county. 
Considerable coal is mined at Walsenburg, one of its principal towns. 
La Veta, Cucharas, and Santa Clara are the other most important towns. 
On the western border rises the great Sangre de Christo range, with Veta 
Pass and Muleshoe Bend to attract tourists over the line of the Denver 
and Rio Grande Railway, which enters the county from the north and 
runs through it in a southerly direction to El Moro, while the main line 
turns at Cucharas for La Veta Valley, climbing the celebrated pass and 
running down into the San Luis Valley. The present valuation of the 
real and personal property of Huerfano county is $2,000,000. 

Jefferson county is part plains-land and part foot-hills, running 
north and south, with the valley of the South Platte traversing its eastern 
boundary. Its agriculture is its main feature, though fire-clay, gypsum, 
potter's clay, building-stone, and coal abound. There is but little un- 
occupied land in this county. It possesses an abundance of cheap fuel in 
its mines of coal ; inexhaustible supplies of excellent building material 
in its stone ; superior water-powers ; large tracts of timber afford good 
lumber in unlimited quantities. The Colorado Central gives ample trans- 
portation for the products of the county to Denver and the markets of 
the State, and places it in direct communication with all the commercial 
centres of the country. 

Golden is the principal city and the county-seat, the home of manu- 
factures, mines, mercantile enterprises, educational and religious institu- 
tions. Morrison, famous for its quarries of stone, is reached by the 
Denver and South Park road, and is a cozy little nook hidden in the 
hills. There is still ample room for thousands of industrious farmers, 
artisans, and miners within the limits of Jefferson county. 

Lake county has Leadville for its principal attraction. The county, 
originally one of the largest in the State, is now one of the smallest in 



COLORADO. 123 

extent, and illustrates the axiom that whatever is most precious is small 
in size. It is full of gulches that were once the centre of attraction for 
thousands of miners who were drawn to it in the early days of Colorado's 
history, then abandoned, but are now the Mecca toward which a steady 
tide of human beings are flowing in search of carbonates. Mining is the 
only industry of the county, but as the output of the present year is likely 
to amount to $25,000,000, it will readily be seen that these mines are a 
sufficient attraction in themselves, and Lake county needs no other. The 
name of Leadville is a synonym for untold riches that lie hidden in the 
vast mineral areas of the district. Mounts Massive and Elbert lift their 
stately summits to the clouds within its borders, while those gems of 
liquid beauty, the Twin Lakes, will be a point of interest for tourists for 
all time to come. Now that railroad communication has reached the 
Carbonate Camp, no visitor to the State can afford to leave it without a 
look at Leadville, to which we devote a special heading elsewhere. 

La Plata county lies west of Conejos, in the extreme south-west 
corner of the State. It borders New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona, and 
is rich in coal, silver-veins, and gold-placers, and contains many fine 
fertile valleys. Within this county are the celebrated ruins now so well 
known through the reports of Hayden's surveys, and to which reference 
is made in these pages. The coal-lands of this county are estimated at 
over six hundred square miles, and will be a source of immense wealth 
when railroads shall reach this far-off corner of Colorado and reveal its 
wonders, its mineral wealth, and its agricultural resources to the world. 

Laeimer county is one of the three principal agricultural counties, 
lying in the northern part of the State, and borders on Wyoming. Its 
western part is extremely mountainous, while beyond it lies North Park, 
to which it is the natural highway. The Cache-la-Poudre, one of the 
most reliable streams on the eastern slope, runs through it in a south- 
easterly direction. An abundance of timber and magnificent water-power 
in the foot-hills and mountains give it an assured present and a magnificent 
future career of prosperity. But it is as an agricultural district that the 
county is best known at present, and its farming resources are limited 
only by the amount of water that can be made available. The first large 
irrigating canal in the State — that constructed by the Union Colony at 
Greeley — heads in this county, as also does the extensive canal of the 
Weld and Larimer Canal Company. But most of the arable areas cov- 
ered by these canals lie in the adjoining county of Weld. Still, enough 
is covered by these and numerous other canals to make agriculture one 
of the main resources of the county. Last year the returns showed sixty 



124 THE GREAT WEST. 

thousand acres of improved lands, with a valuation of $300,000, while 
the entire taxable wealth of the county is about $3,000,000. The Col- 
orado Central branch of the Union Pacific Railway gives direct com- 
munication with Denver and the mountain-towns, while Cheyenne and 
the east and west are reached on the north. Fort Collins, Loveland, 
Livermore, and Wheatland are the principal towns. 

Las Animas county lies along the southern boundary of Colorado. Its 
principal stream is that from which the county is named, and the valley of 
" The Spirits " forms one of the most magnificent tracts of farming-land 
in the State. The Denver and Rio Grande and the Atchison, Topeka, 
and Santa Fe Railways traverse it, while Trinidad and El Moro are its 
principal towns. At these points a vast and expanding industry has 
been established : hundreds of coke-ovens are burning night and day. 
The coal in this vicinity makes excellent coke, for which, of course, the 
mines furnish a ready market. There is no mining done in this county, 
but the extensive table-lands furnish unequalled grazing-grounds for 
sheep, of which the county has over one hundred thousand. The coal- 
mines are a source of constant revenue, and the valley is capable of sus- 
taining a large farming community whenever a thrifty class enters and 
occupies the fertile soil. 

Ouray county lies west of San Juan, and is part of the San Juan 
mineral belt of country, full of mountains, ravines, and gorges in which 
precious metals abound, but with which communication, especially in the 
winter season, is difficult. This remoteness from civilization has tended 
to retard its progress, but there is a possibility of a railroad reaching this 
distant point at an early day, and then a rapid advancement may be looked 
for. Ouray is the main town in the district. The Dolores plateau, lying 
west of the belt of mountains traversing the eastern borders of the county, 
is believed to be capable of agricultural development, but this is not likely 
to occur at an early day in the history of Colorado. 

Park county. — This is the famous South Park country. It lies in a 
kind of basin, having mighty mountain-ranges for its rim on three sides, 
while its eastern border is a series of spurs broken by small streams that 
feed the South Platte River. It is the most centrally-located county in 
the State, full of mineral springs, salt springs, carbonate deposits, and coal. 
Within its borders Mount Lincoln rears its lofty head. From its eastern 
slope the South Platte River starts on its journey to the Plains, while on 
its western edge its waters seek the Pacific through the channels of the 
Blue and the Grand Rivers. The Denver and South Park Railway 
courses through it, and all along its line towns are springing up, to be- 



COLORADO. 125 

come of more or less importance in future years. Stock-raising is a 
prominent feature in the industries of this county, the vast area of the 
park being capable of sustaining countless herds of cattle. Fairplay and 
Alma are its principal towns. 

Pueblo county is a valley-county, lying on each side of the Arkansas 
Kiver. The Denver and Rio Grande Railway runs through it north and 
south, and a branch at Pueblo runs west to Canon City. The Atchison, 
Topcka, and Santa Fe road enters it from the east, so that Pueblo, the 
principal town in the county, is an important railroad-point. It is one 
of the finest agricultural districts in the State, but stock-raising at present 
predominates. Nearly a hundred thousand cattle and sheep are herded 
on the plains, while the Arkansas Valley contains two hundred thousand 
acres of arable land. The Fontaine-qui-Bouille, St. Charles, Chico, and 
Greenhorn are the principal tributaries to the main river running through 
it, in whose valleys more or less farming is carried on. It could be made 
a great fruit-raising section if attention was paid to this industry. The 
terminus of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway being at Pueblo 
for the present, makes it quite a commercial centre, and the city is in a 
thriving condition. The taxable wealth of the county, in live-stock, real 
estate, personal property, and railway-tracks, amounts to nearly seven 
million dollars. There are some extensive cattle- and sheep-ranches here, 
where Mexican labor is wholly employed, yet but a tithe of its twelve 
hundred square miles of fertile land is in cultivation. 

Rio Grande lies between Conejos and Saguache, and is partly moun- 
tainous, with large breadths of plains-land. The Rio Grande del Norte 
runs along its western border, and San Luis Park lies partly within it. 
There are several small tributaries feeding the main stream, whose valleys 
are lined with cultivated farms ; but for the most part the vast area of 
arable land is unoccupied, waiting the coming of those who are to till the 
productive soil and feed the myriads who will throng the mining districts 
to the west and north. 

Routt county, in the extreme north-west corner of the State, is covered 
with mountain-ranges and spurs, and with river-valleys in which grazing 
and agricultural pursuits to some extent could be successfully carried on. 
Egeria Park is in its south-east corner ; Yampah River courses through it 
from east to west ; and the Elkhead range of mountains are the prin- 
cipal ones within its borders. On the head-waters of the Snake and Elk 
Rivers there are some extensive placer-lands from which considerable gold 
has been taken, and where flumes and ditches have been constructed. 
Steamboat Springs are in the eastern part. The county at present is 



126 THE GREAT WEST. 

attracting but little attention, but when communication can be had with 
it easier than at present it will be found capable of supporting a vast 
population. 

Saguache county occupies the northern extremity of San Luis Valley, 
and has considerable settlements within it, but is capable of sustaining 
many more. It has a fertile and finely-watered region, scarcely equalled 
anywhere, whose numerous valleys are great natural meadows covered 
with vegetation, and whose table-lands afford abundant pasture for sheep 
and cattle. Perhaps one hundred and fifty thousand acres of land are 
improved. The taxable wealth of the county is $1,000,000. In addition 
to its pastoral resources, it contains some of the finest scenery in the State, 
being hemmed in on the east, north, and west by the Sangre de Christo, 
Saguache, and Cochetopa Hills. It is a district with great natural attrac- 
tions and boundless resources, and has an era of prosperity before it whose 
dawn already casts its light upon the horizon. 

San Juan county is a small but exceedingly rich section of country in 
the south-western part of the State, and is full of mining districts in which 
thousands of lodes are located, and many of them worked. The dis- 
coveries and developments that are constantly in progress, despite the 
amount of interest excited by Leadville, vindicate the conviction that the 
great natural resources of the San Juan country are not likely to be 
forgotten. Indeed, these silver-ribbed rocks can hardly be overlooked. 
Silverton is the principal town, and one that is steadily growing. A good 
wagon-road connects it with Ouray, Lake City, and the outside world. 
The gulches in this district contain many very productive mines, but the 
wealth that has thus far been brought to light is but trifling to what will 
yet be realized when capital concentrates at this point. San Juan county 
has no agricultural resources. 

Summit county is one of the extreme north-west counties, lying west 
of the summit of the Main Range. It is a region as yet undeveloped on 
its eastern borders, where it is rich in silver-lodes and gold-placers. In 
the western part of the county coal is said to exist in immense deposits. 
Some eight millions in gold, silver, and lead have been taken out of this 
district since Colorado was first settled. New and important mining dis- 
tricts now being developed are attracting some attention. Ten-Mile dis- 
trict has some rich galena-veins that have been lately opened. Eagle 
River, the Blue, Snake, Swan, and their tributaries, are all likely to be- 
come famous points, as they are the last discovered in the extensive min- 
eral regions lying west of the range. The Mountain of the Holy Cross, 
the subject of J. Harrison Mills's celebrated painting, is in this county, 



COLORADO. 127 

while Mount Lincoln is on its south-east boundary and Mount Powell on 
the north. The blood-stained White River Agency lies within it. 

Weld county is one of the largest in the State, and lies in the north- 
east corner. The South Platte River runs through its entire length, 
while the Denver Pacific Railway passes down its western edge. It is 
wholly a cattle-raising and agricultural county. Within it lies Greeley, 
the first farming-town established in the State, and the success of which led 
to the establishment of so many others. It is believed that coal underlies 
a good part of the western portion, but this is only conjecture, save in the 
extreme south-west corner, at Erie, where mines are worked. The valley 
of the South Platte is one capable of raising, by systematic and economic 
irrigation, food enough to supply the wants of the people of the entire State. 
Out on the Plains, beyond Greeley, some attention is paid to sheep-raising, 
and there are large herds of cattle kept between the river and the Territory 
of Wyoming on the north. When the railway system of the country reaches 
and occupies the South Platte Valley, it will open up a splendid country 
and develop the resources of this county to a very large extent. The 
principal towns are Greeley, Evans, Platteville, and Erie. The taxable 
property reaches $7,000,000. The construction of the Weld and Larimer 
County Canal throws open thousands of acres to cultivation, and when 
these are utilized Weld will stand in the front rank as a county whose 
agricultural resources are unbounded save by the volume of water in its 
streams. 

THE FLORA OF COLORADO. 

The flora of the State is full of interest to the casual observer, the lover 
of flowers, and the botanist. For many months in the year the plains, 
the foot-hills, the very sides of the mountains, are covered with the com- 
mon wild flowers that luxuriate in the bright sunshine and dry air. Here 
is not found such wealth of foliage as abounds in moister climates ; the 
blossoms predominate to a remarkable degree. The botanist, wandering 
through the Sangre de Christo range, tramples down whole fields of white 
and blue larkspur and delicate mertensia. The summits are crowned with 
phlox and forget-me-nots. The fields of Wet Mountain Valley are full 
of clover, iris, and lilies. Wild roses bloom along the banks of every 
stream, great or small. Ipomea covers the mesas, abronias whiten innu- 
merable acres of land, while the large, conspicuous flowers of the Jlira- 
bilis muUiflora are seen opening their petals late in the afternoon and show- 
ing fresh, bright faces to the passer-by. The syringa grows wherever it 
can find a foothold, the cafions are alive with fallugia, while wherever little 



128 THE GREAT WEST. 

streams of water dash over the rocks in the foot-hills and lose themselves 
in mist the golden columbine and aquilegia grow to perfection. The 
scarlet and the blue pentstemon, the brilliant gillia, spireas, and hosts 
of less showy but equally interesting plants occupy every available 
spot. 

Especially in Southern Colorado is the flora of the Plains and foot-hills 
remarkable for abundance, variety, and brilliance. The low elevation 
of the Arkansas Valley and its tributaries has induced many of the most 
noticeable and beautiful specimens, whose home is in New Mexico, to find 
a resting-place here and to grow abundantly. The parks are dotted with 
the tree-cactus and the frankenia, while at least thirteen species of cactus 
abound, from the familiar prickly-pear with long flat joints and sharp 
thorns and handsome yellow flowers, up to the tree-cactus with its large 
purple flowers and sharp thorns, growing twelve feet in height in favor- 
able localities. Here and there solitary cones of Cereus fenaleri can oc- 
casionally be found, bearing two or three large purple-flaming blossoms, 
while up on the mountain-sides flourish in great abundance hemispherical 
masses of Cereus phcenicus, scarlet with a hundred blossoms and bristling 
with a thousand spines. 

A world of floral beauty, it may therefore be said, is open to all be- 
holders in this State, so rich in resources in its valleys, plains, hills, and 
cliffs. It may be called the Wonderland of America, and its flora will 
be an irresistible attraction during the summer and fall months for all 
who have an eye to the beauties of Nature unchanged by human art. 

WILD ANIMALS. 

Middle Park may be taken as a fair type of the fauna of the moun- 
tain-regions of Colorado. As it contains lakes and streams, plains and 
hills, it may be looked upon as a miniature State, and in describing the 
animals of this section we describe those of all Colorado. 

The following have been seen or killed in the park or on the moun- 
tains that surround it: 

Of the bear family ( Urce,us) : The common black (americanus) ; brown 
or cinnamon (arctus) ; grizzly (ferox). 

Of the wolf family (Lupus): The common (canis); prairie (latros); 
wolverine (Gulo lucus). 

Of the fox family ( Vulpus) : The common red (vulgaris) ; black (ah- 
pex) ; silver (argenteus). 

Of the deer family : The common (Cervus virginianus) ; the antelope 




RESTORED TOWER AND CLIFF-HOUSES. 



COLORADO. 129 

(Antilocapra cervicapra) ; the elk or moose (Aleci americanus) ; the moun- 
tain-sheep (Ovis montana, resembling the Caprovis musimon of Europe). 

In addition to these may be named : 

The cougar or panther, generally called the Rocky Mountain lion. 
This fierce animal is found all through the Rocky Mountains. 

The lynx (Felis canadensis), very common in the parks. It is called 
the wild-cat, and sometimes, erroneously, the catamount. 

The pole-cat (Putorius vulgaris of the naturalists, and seems to be a 
cosmopolite). 

The mink (Putorius vison), valued for its skin, being covered with 
fine fur. 

The beaver (Castor americanus). This is perhaps the same as the Eu- 
ropean Castor fiber. Its fur is well known. 

.The otter (Lutra canadensis or Lutra mollis, so called on account of 
the softness of its fur). It is an aquatic animal, and found only in lakes 
and streams. 

The muskrat (Fiber zibethicus), a genuine native American, and found 
in no other part of the world. 

The woodchuck (Arctomys monax), sometimes called the ground-hog, 
and found all over the country. 

ANCIENT RUINS. 

South-western Colorado is one vast network of ruins, indicating an 
age in the far past when its valleys and mountains were filled with an 
enterprising people. It is asserted that there is scarcely a square mile in 
six thousand examined by the Hayden Expedition that does not furnish 
evidence of previous occupation by a race totally distinct from the no- 
madic savages who hold it now, and which must have been in many ways 
superior to the latter. These ruins are in a great measure the remnants 
of stone structures, some of them of large dimensions, and have been 
classed under general heads : Lowland or agricultural settlements ; cave- 
dwellings ; cliif-houses or fortresses. The first of these are on the river- 
bottoms, close to water; the second are excavations in the bluffs; the 
third are built high up in steep, almost inaccessible, cliffs. Rock-inscrip- 
tions are numerous, both engraved and painted on the cliffs. Remains 
of pottery and flint-chips are abundant. The number of these ruins pre- 
cludes the possibility of mentioning them save in a general way. 

The section of country in which they are principally found is that 
drained by the San Juan River, reaching from the Sierra Abajo on the 
north to Choco Cafion on the south, and covering an area of some twenty 
o 



130 THE GREAT WEST. 

thousand square miles. Evidences of a once thickly-inhabited country- 
abound throughout its entire length. At some time in the distant past a 
pre-historic race of people existed in the fastnesses of the south-western 
portion of Colorado, whose life and history are only hinted at in the vast 
accumulations of remains that are left behind them. Of the habits of 
these people we know but little. The general absence of human remains, 
and the fact that few if any burial-places have been uncovered, would 
seem to indicate that other methods than those used in our day to hide the 
remains of the dead were practised. Indeed, the heaps of ashes mingled 
with charred wood lead us to believe that cremation was not an unknown 
art with them. As to the era in which this extinct race existed, there is 
no positive data. The towns are now as they were hundreds of years 
ago, for these ruins were seen and described by Spanish explorers, who 
accounted them Aztec ruins. It may be that time and more extended 
research may open up the story of the people who once flourished — as did 
the Egyptians of old in all their grandeur upon the banks of the Nile — 
among the cliffs of Colorado, but who have been swept away from their 
rock-hewn castles on the cliff-sides and their valley-towns, leaving noth- 
ing behind to tell the story of the ages in which they flourished. It 
would seem as though these ruins would indicate races of ancient culture 
flourishing here thousands of years ago, and that America may yet be 
established to be the Old instead of the New World. 

In this vast area of land — still far away from civilization, but into 
which the feet of the tourist will in a few short years wander, while the 
hearts of the beholders will be hushed with awe and their eyes grow 
round with wonder — will be found new fields of study and research that 
will be more puzzling than the secrets of the Nile have ever bepn. The 
Dolores, San Juan, Mancos, La Plata, De los Pinos, De los Animas, De 
Chelley, — these will be Meccas for the geologists, archaeologists, ethnolo- 
gists, who will find, in unfolding the secrets of the cliffs, full occupation 
for their skill. Then, perhaps, the hieroglyphics upon the walls will tell 
a story at which a civilized world will wonder. 

As to the causes that destroyed such an immense nation as evidently 
once inhabited this country, we can only conjecture. It is among the 
possibilities that they were once similar to the people who inhabited the 
valleys of the Mississippi and Missouri, and who were driven westward 
by the ancestors of the present race of savages still lingering in our midst, 
and that they were eventually destroyed in their mountain-fastnesses by 
these and the Spaniards of earlier days. The present Pueblo Indians are 
supposed to be a remnant of the ancient race of Cliff-dwellers. 



COLORADO. 131 

AGRICULTURE. 

Agriculture in Colorado is an entirely different pursuit from that prac- 
tised in the East, and the farmer who comes to the State and enters upon 
the cultivation of the soil in the style he has been accustomed to, will 
find that failure is more likely to crown his endeavors than success. He 
has much to unlearn. It is best to abandon old notions and begin anew. 
Dependent upon irrigation for the growth of his crops, he must study the 
methods and meet the requirements of the climate. With a fixed pur- 
pose in his mind to overcome all the obstacles that will daily present 
themselves to him, it will not be long before the new order of things 
will become familiar, and, once understanding the methods, he may rely 
upon Nature for the rest. Bountiful harvests will crown his efforts, and 
excellent prices will cheer his heart and fill his pocket. Irrigation is 
dreaded because it is not understood. Yet it is almost as old as civiliza- 
tion, and Oriental countries have depended upon it for uncounted ages. 
The records of ancient history are full of it, and to-day in India, Chi- 
na, and elsewhere in Asia long and expensive irrigating-canals are the 
reliance of millions to whom a failure of water would be starvation and 
death. 

In the early history of Colorado small ditches by individuals were 
constructed, covering only the meadow- or bottom-lands. But the selec- 
tion of Union Colony (in 1870) of Colorado for the settlement of a new 
town caused the construction of the first large canal to cover the plains 
proper, or uplands, running several miles back from the stream. This 
successful enterprise was followed by others of like corporate nature, and 
now a large amount of English capital is being spent in the construction 
of canals covering from thirty thousand to seventy-five thousand acres 
of land. An immense impetus has been given to the agricultural devel- 
opment of the country by these companies, and the rapid increase of 
population keeps up a demand that the farmers are not able to supply, 
neither will they be for a number of years. Hence good prices will be 
the rule, while bad seasons are the exception, in the experience of farmers. 

The agriculture of the State is confined to the valleys, of which we 
mention the principal : The Cache-la-Poudre, a valley thirty-five miles 
long, with an abundant supply of water ; the Big and Little Thompson, 
the St. Yrain, Left-Hand, and Boulder, in Boulder county ; Ralston, 
Clear Creek, and South Platte. These are the principal agricultural 
valleys in Northern Colorado, and here two-thirds of the grain and veg- 
etables of the State are raised. Something like three-quarters of a mil- 



132 THE GREAT WEST. 

lion bushels of wheat, and about the same quantity of oats, barley, rye, 
corn, and potatoes, are raised. 

South of Denver the main producing valleys are the Fontaine-qui- 
Bouille, Arkansas, Las Animas, and Rio Grande. In these not so much 
progress has been made in turning their countless acres into cultivated 
fields and gardens ; but attention of late has been attracted to this part 
of the State, and the next few years will see a rapid progress in the 
development of Southern Colorado, not only in agriculture, but in 
horticulture. 

The price of land and water combined averages twenty dollars per 
acre in the north, but there are thousands upon thousands of acres to be 
had at nominal prices in the south ; and to these the coming farmers 
must go to lay the firm foundations of future prosperity for themselves, 
their posterity, and the State. 

The cost of raising general crops under a system of irrigation is sup- 
posed, by those not familiar with it, to be very expensive. But this is 
not really so, as the experience of Colorado farmers goes to prove. Wheat 
can be raised at 40 cents per bushel, or $8 per acre ; taking the low 
average of yield to be but twenty bushels per acre, at $1 per bushel, it 
leaves a profit of $12 to the acre. Oats can be raised at an expense of 
$10 per acre, leaving the profit $12.50. Corn can be raised for $6.75, 
leaving a margin of profit of $14.75. Potatoes can be grown at a cost 
of $20, and in average seasons give $60 profit to the acre. Amber cane 
can be raised at an expense about equal to corn, but yielding a return of 
$20 per acre. It will easily be seen that in these figures, based upon 
actual itemized accounts kept during the season of 1879, there is a good 
margin of profit ; and while there may be seasons when scant snowfalls 
in the winter on the mountains give short supply of water in the sum- 
mer, or untimely frost or grasshopper visitation may occasionally curtail 
the harvest, yet these are less frequent than the violent storms, the severe 
drouths, and the destructive insects that visit the fields of Eastern and 
Southern farmers. There is nothing to discourage the cultivators of the 
soil in the peculiar conditions that are required to make the harvest in 
Colorado a sure and profitable one. There is abundant room for thou- 
sands of them, still open at figures within reach of the poorest ; for even 
if one comes almost penniless, he can still find land offered him for the 
occupancy thereof by government ; and though it may not be a wise 
policy for individuals to go too far from settled communities, still small 
colonies can combine their capital, co-operate in building canals, and so 
create settlements that will eventually grow into thriving towns. Not 



COLORADO. 133 

one-tenth part of the land susceptible of cultivation has been placed 
under canals, and of this not one-third is occupied. Every variety of 
grain and all kinds of vegetables can be grown profitably, and the yield 
is enormous compared with that of the older States. The soil seems 
inexhaustible in the constituents of cereal crops. Wheat has been raised 
running eighty bushels to the acre, while the average can be set down at 
twenty-five. Barley is a sure crop, with a ready market for the grain on 
account of its superior malting qualities. The yield is from twenty-five 
to forty bushels to the acre. Oats are easily grown, and yield about the 
same as barley, while the supply has never yet been equal to the demand, 
and Kansas and Nebraska are largely drawn upon for the deficiency. 
Corn is beginning to be considered a staple crop, though at first it was 
supposed the general altitude of the country, and the consequent coolness 
of the nights, formed a hinderance to success. But late years have 
proved that there can be as good corn raised here as in any of the North- 
ern States. Especially is this so in Southern Colorado. Amber cane 
has been found to be peculiarly adapted to the soil, and a cane is grown 
rich in the qualities that produce good syrup and sugar. Bye is but 
little raised, but more attention is being paid to it each year. Potatoes, 
especially in the foot-hills and on the Divide, yield immense crops. Many 
of the uplands, especially on the north side of the Cache-la-Poudre, are 
also suited to the successful cultivation of this tuber. As for vegetables, 
all kinds, down to the tenderest, are grown with remarkable success. 

While agriculture is an established success, it is being conclusively 
shown that horticulture will yet become a prominent pursuit in the State. 
Strawberries are one of the most certain and profitable of crops. One 
acre can be cultivated and the crop marketed at a cost of $150, while the 
profit from 1800 quarts at 25 cents per quart — which was the wholesale 
rate during the summer of 1879 in the Denver market — leaves a profit of 
$300 per acre. Blackberries, raspberries, currants, and gooseberries range 
from 20 to 50 cents per quart at wholesale, while the expense of cultiva- 
tion is perhaps one-third less than for strawberries. Grapes grow in great 
abundance, and tons of them are annually put upon the market and find 
ready sale. Peaches, pears, and cherries are grown in various localities in 
sheltered locations, and it would seem as though — in Southern Colorado, 
at least — these fruits would yet be successfully cultivated to a limited ex- 
tent. Apples of the more hardy varieties are now raised in both sections 
of the State. One orchard yielded two thousand bushels last season ; it 
is located in the Arkansas Valley, near the town of Cafion City. Of 
course there have been many failures in the past, and will be in the future, 



134 THE GREAT WEST. 

in these pursuits, until time and experience determine the varieties suited 
to the peculiar climate. But such discouragements have been met with 
elsewhere, and in States that are now recognized as great fruit-growing 
States. Colorado horticulturists have no cause to be discouraged. 

The general outlook for agriculture and horticulture, therefore, may be 
said to be good, though they cannot be expected to keep pace with the 
mining progress ; but this fact is in the farmer's favor, not against him. 
The building of extensive irrigating-canals, the economical use of water, 
the introduction of all the improved kinds of machinery, the intelligent 
system of cultivation, the sure cash-market that exists, and the inexhaus- 
tible richness of the soil, — these are safe warrants for the assertion that 
" Colorado agriculture is sure to be remunerative, as well as ennobling, to 
all who pursue it, and who bring to it that intelligence, industry, economy, 
and perseverance which is demanded for success in other avocations of life." 

CATTLE SHEEP DAIRYING. 

The rapid increase and general prosperity of the stock interest of the 
State confirm its character of peculiar attractiveness and adaptability for 
the successful pursuit of this anc], kindred industries. The mildness of 
its climate and the nutritious character of its native grasses not only tend 
to the highest development and perfection of breeds, but enable the stock- 
owner to meet the expense of long transportation and compete in the 
markets of Chicago and New York with cattle-growing regions more 
accessible to market, but less favored in conditions of climate and vast 
extent of native and inexpensive pasturage. With the advantages which 
these two conditions of climate and food so abundantly offer, stock-raising 
is destined to continue to be a leading — in fact, the second great — industry 
of Colorado, and a prominent element in its wealth. 

The grazing-grounds of the State extend from its eastern borders to the 
line where farming begins — say, a strip twenty miles wide from the base 
of the foot-hills. From the Arkansas to the Platte, and along the streams 
which are tributary to these rivers, on the head-waters of the Republican, 
and in fact wherever upon the Plains water can be found in sufficient 
quantities for stock, there is probably an area of forty thousand square 
miles where cattle, sheep, and horses can range, feeding upon nutritious 
grasses, and costing their owners a nominal sum only for herding or the 
expense of the annual " round-up." The yearly losses are very small 
from storms, exposures, and other causes, and do not exceed five per 
cent. 

It is supposed, especially by those engaged in the business, that there 



COLORADO. 135 

are enougli cattle and sheep in Colorado for the land that is open to sus- 
tain them. But this is an erroneous impression, calculated to injure the 
growth of this important element of wealth. There are still immense 
areas of pasturage, especially in the southern and south-western portions 
of the country, where cattle can be kept and where sheep can be made a 
source of immense revenue. These lands for a long time to come are not 
likely to be made available for agriculture, and consequently can be used 
for grazing purposes. 

The very great profit there is in cattle and sheep lies in the important 
item of free feeding, and is likely to continue to be the source from which 
their owners will draw princely revenues for many years to come. A 
movement was lately inaugurated by the Stock-Growers' Association of 
Southern Colorado to memorialize Congress on the subject of offering for 
sale these so-called arid lands at a graduated price per acre, by which 
extensive tracts which are only suitable for grazing purposes might be 
purchased at a low valuation, believing that such a course would add to 
the taxable wealth of the State, while it would be of material service in 
building up the permanent stock interest. But it is a question if the pas- 
sage of such a law would not result in the establishment of a few immense 
ranches, to the exclusion of the large proportion of small cattle-growers 
now holding the ground by the right of occupancy. 

The grasses on the Plains are mainly of three kinds : the gamma-grass, 
growing about ten inches high, in a single round stock, with two oblong 
heads at the top of it ; then comes the buffalo-grass, growing about four 
inches high, which is curly in its character and lies close to the ground ; 
then there is what is called bunch-grass, which keeps green at the roots 
nearly all winter. On these cattle and sheep subsist the year round, and 
grow fat. 

The five leading counties of the State wherein cattle predominate are 
Weld and Arapahoe in Northern, and Bent, Elbert, and Pueblo in 
Southern Colorado. The number returned last year was 502,293. 

The counties returning the largest number of sheep are Weld, Larimer, 
and Arapahoe in the north, and El Paso, Huerfano, Las Animas, Conejos, 
Bent, and Pueblo in the south. The number returned last year was 
779,991. 

But few horses, comparatively, are raised in the State, 61,506 being 
reported altogether; the five counties having the largest number are 
Weld, Arapahoe, El Paso, Larimer, and Boulder. 

The assessment returns of live-stock for some counties are believed to 
be far too low to give any correct idea of the extent of this industry. It 



136 THE GREAT WEST. 

is believed by competent judges that there are nearly nine hundred thou- 
sand head of cattle and two million sheep in the State, and that the total 
value of the live-stock upon the range will foot up $15,000,000. 

The shipment of cattle out of the State has reached over one hundred 
thousand head yearly, and at an average price of twenty-five dollars per 
head it will be seen that Colorado realizes no inconsiderable income from 
this source, it footing up two million five hundred thousand dollars, while 
the amount realized from the sale of tallow and hides and the dairy prod- 
ucts adds one million more to these figures. The quality of cattle is 
constantly improving, there having been introduced within the last few 
years a large number of short-horns, Herefords, Jerseys, and Devons. 

A State Board of Cattle Inspection Commissioners is provided for by 
statute. There are two State Stock Associations, holding annual sessions. 
In the spring occurs the " round-up," when all the cattle spread over the 
various grazing-tracts of country are driven together in one vast herd, 
and, with their increase, separated and driven to their respective ranges 
by their various owners. These "round-ups" cover sixteen districts, 
and are governed by well-established rules and regulations. 

The growth of the sheep interest has been uniform and rapid. Ten 
years ago there were not twenty thousand in the State ; now there are two 
million, and the industry is increasing each year both in quantity and (by 
the introduction of thoroughbred Merinos) quality. The wool-clip of 
last year was over 5,500,000 pounds, valued at $1,400,000. 

Sheep-raising is very profitable. The estimates of outlay and profit 
on sheep-farming for three years can be easily given from the actual ex- 
perience of those engaged in the business : 

Outlay. — One thousand sheep, twenty rams, wagon-team, harness, ranche, 
house, corral, herders' wages, and provisions : 

First year, $4660; second year, $1225; third year, $2050; total, 
$7935. 

Profits. — From the wool : 

First year, $1790; second year, $2710; third year, $3940; total, 
$8640. 

It will be seen, therefore, that the proceeds from the sale of wool more 
than cover the first cost of the sheep and the herding outfit and expenses, 
leaving a balance in favor of the raiser of $705. At the end of the 
three years he has therefore his entire flock in hand, numbering 4200, 
free of cost. The value of these may be set down at $2.50 per head, or 
$10,000, while his ranche, corral, and team, worth about $1000, are still 
to be taken into consideration. This shows a profit of over two hundred 



COLORADO. 137 

per cent, upon his original investment, and the next two or three years 
the ratio of percentage will increase. 

One man can attend to from one thousand to two thousand sheep with 
ease, except at lambing-time, when the services of two men are required 
for one month. Those who intend to enter this business, however, are 
advised to go cautiously at first. Learn the ways of the country and the 
methods of caring for sheep requisite for success by engaging with those 
who have had experience for at least one season. The knowledge thus 
gained will be of incalculable value. A careful selection of land for a 
range is necessary ; some sheep-men have two ranges — one for summer, 
on the plains, and one for winter, within the shelter of the foot-hills. 
Good sheep in the start pay better than a poor grade. A close attention 
to business will enable even those who are novices at it to build up a 
respectable fortune in a very few years by sheep-raising. 

In this connection a few words about dairying may not be out of place. 
For this industry Colorado presents many excellent advantages. The 
native grass is rich and nutritious ; the water is pure, abundant, and cold ; 
the soil produces in greatest profusion all kinds of roots adapted for 
winter-feed for new milch cows. All these are items which the dairy- 
farmer will readily recognize as important factors in an industry for the 
products of which there is a constant home-market, where butter brings 
a good price. The demand for this article has always been greater than the 
supply, the price ranging from twenty-five to forty-five cents. 

We give in this connection a demonstration of what dairymen can do 
in Colorado, and of the profit there is in the business, from figures kept 
by one engaged in it : 

Twenty cows from January 1st to December 1st yielded 2640 pounds 
of butter, or an average of 132 pounds to the cow, which, selling at 30 
cents— a low average price— gave a total of $792, or an average of 
$39.60 per cow for the season. In addition, the calves brought f 5 each, 
making the total from each cow $45.60. The expenses figured up as 
follows : help, $300 ; salt, $20 ; hay, $80 ; bran and feed, $20 ; total, 
$420 — leaving a balance of $372 profit at the end of the season, or 
$18.60 per cow. 

There are excellent locations for dairying on the Divide south of Denver 
and within the first range of mountains, from ten to twenty miles from 
the Plains. These localities are small valleys or parks, varying in size 
from twenty to two hundred acres, surrounded by mountains, full of 
beautiful streams of water. Pine, cotton wood, and willows furnish timber 
and shade, while in the valleys considerable hay can be cut and stored for 



138 THE GREAT WEST. 

winter use. Here the grass is ricli and sweet, even far up the mountain- 
slopes, and usually so little snow falls that pasturage can be had almost 
every day in the year. Some of these parks are immediately connected 
with others, making a series of valleys where a few families form a 
pleasant neighborhood and live in rural quiet and prosperity 

TOWNS AND VILLAGES. 

The cities of Denver and Lcadvillc being described under separate 
headings, we now group together brief descriptive sketches of some of the 
other principal towns and villages of the State, following the lines of 
railway : 

Golden is the county-seat of Jefferson county and the point of junc- 
tion of the broad- and narrow-gauge divisions of the Colorado Central 
Railroad ; population, about 3000. This is a manufacturing and coal- 
mining centre, and is one of the oldest and most prosperous of the cities of 
Colorado. It was founded in 1859 by gulch-miners, and was at one time 
the rival of Denver and the capital of the State. It lies on Clear Creek, 
where a rapid stream, with a fall of sixty feet to the mile, gives the town 
an immense water-power. Extensive smelting-works have been erected 
in the valley adjoining the town, and the advantages for manufacturing 
industries at this point are numerous. Golden is fifteen miles west of 
Denver, and has an elevation of 5882 feet. The State School of Mines 
is located here. Two weekly journals, the Transcript and Globe, are pub- 
lished. Its location is somewhat remarkable for its surroundings, being 
hemmed in on all sides by mountains, except at the opening made by 
the debouching of Clear Creek from the foot-hills on its way to the Plains. 

Idaho Speings is a point of interest as a popular summer resort, 
where the hot springs annually attract a large number of invalids, while 
the beauty of the canon draws thither tourists from all directions. The 
springs vary in temperature from 60° to 110°. The Iris, an excellent 
local journal, is published weekly. 

Geoegetown is the principal town and the county-seat of Clear Creek 
county, lying at the very base of the Main Range. It was founded in 
1860, is surrounded by lofty mountains ribbed with silver- veins, and has 
a population of 2500. It boasts of waterworks, a fire department, five 
churches, two newspapers — the Miner and the Courier — two banks, and 
business-houses equal to any town of its size in the State. There are 
reduction-works, concentrating-mills, sampling and ore-buying establish- 
ments, all in active operation. Mining is carried on very extensively in 
the immediate neighborhood. Near by lies the celebrated Green Lake, a 



COLORADO. 139 

very attractive spot for tourists and sportsmen, while Gray's and Irving's 
Peaks tower above it. The elevation of the town is 8452 feet. 

Black Hawk was first settled as a mining-camp in 1859, and the 
present town is built irregularly along the gulches and against the moun- 
tain-sides. Its appearance, therefore, as viewed from one of the adjoin- 
ing hills, is very peculiar. The principal industries of the place are 
gold-mining and milling and reducing ores. Some of the oldest and best- 
developed gold- and silver-mines of the State are in the immediate 
vicinity, making Black Hawk a busy, prosperous town of about 1000 
inhabitants. It has one weekly journal, the Post. Altitude, 7955 feet. 

Central City is the business-centre of the gold-mining districts of 
Gilpin county, its principal city and the county-seat. The streets are 
narrow, steep, and rugged, the result of the peculiar conformation of the 
ground ; they run on each side of the gulches and on the slopes of the 
surrounding mountains. It is a terminus of the narrow-gauge system of 
the Colorado branch of the Union Pacific Railroad, Georgetown being the 
other, has a population of 2000, and supports an excellent daily paper, 
the Register- Call. Distance from Denver, 40 miles. 

Louisville. — From Golden the broad-gauge track extends northward, 
passing the town of Louisville, built within the last two years. In its 
neighborhood is the Welch mine, yielding the best coal found in Northern 
Colorado, and giving employment to a large number of people. Popula- 
tion, 500. 

Boulder is the principal town and the county-seat of Boulder county, 
and is located in a beautiful valley close to the foot-hills. In earlier 
years it was the head-quarters of an extensive mining district, and is still 
prominent in this respect. Its site and surroundings, its manufacturing 
advantages, the mineral and agricultural wealth of the county, will yet 
place Boulder in the front rank of thriving cities. Its coal-mines are no 
unimportant factor in its elements of prosperity. Boulder Canon (de- 
scribed elsewhere) is unexcelled in the State for the weird grandeur of its 
scenery. The State University is located here. There are two banks, six 
churches, three newspapers, and an excellent graded school employing 
eight teachers. Population, about 2000. Elevation, 5536 feet. 

Longmont. — Continuing along the line of the railway, fourteen miles 
north of Boulder we come to the town of Longmont, located in the very 
centre of the agricultural portion of Northern Colorado. It is not a large 
town, but it is an exceedingly prosperous one, being surrounded on all 
sides for a distance of from seven to twelve miles with cultivated farms. 
It was settled by a colony in 1872, and relies entirely for its business 



140 THE GREAT WEST. 

upon its agricultural surroundings. Lying on the north bank of the St. 
Vrain, it has a beautiful location, with Long's Peak, from which it was 
named, looming in the distance. The road to Estes Peak, now attract- 
ing attention as a summer resort, is from this point. When a system of 
waterworks, now projected, is established, Longmont will become one of 
the most pleasant country towns in the State. 

Loveland lies seventeen miles north, on the bank of the Big Thomp- 
son. This town is of recent growth, but bids fair to be the centre of a 
thriving and industrious farming community. 

Fort Collins is the county-seat of Larimer county, and, located as 
it is near the foot-hills, obtains, in addition to the trade of the extensive 
farming settlements lying all around it, the entire trade of the mountain- 
districts directly west of it. The road to North Park leads from this 
point. The State Agricultural College is located on 240 acres of land 
just south of the town. A splendid brick schoolhouse marks the intel- 
ligence of the community. Within the last year or two the town has 
grown rapidly, and bids fair to become the largest in that section. 

Greeley is a town known all over the Union as the one founded by 
Horace Greeley, in connection with N. C. Meeker, in 1870, at which 
time several hundred families left the Eastern States to establish in the 
West a temperance settlement. At first, many things conspired to dis- 
courage the colonists, and perhaps four-fifths of the original ones left the 
place and country in disgust. But now, ten years after its settlement, a 
thriving town of 2000 inhabitants attests the wisdom of its founders. 
The streets are of generous breadth, lined with shade trees. The inhab- 
itants are, as a class, very intelligent. A magnificent school-building was 
erected six years ago. A canal about forty miles long furnishes water for 
sixty thousand acres of land enclosed in a common fence. Farming in 
this neighborhood is the occupation of three-fourths of the people, and 
the wheat-crop raised each year is about one-fifth of what is raised in the 
State. Two banks, two newspapers, and churches of all denominations 
are here and thriving, indicating that the society is of the best in the 
State. The science of farming is better understood and practised here 
than anywhere else in Colorado. Greeley is on the line of the Denver 
Pacific Railway, fifty miles south of Cheyenne. 

Evans lies south of Greeley, four miles away. It is on the north 
side of the South Platte River, and boasts an enterprising and thrifty 
community. Considerable farming is done on the lands lying south of 
the stream, but there is room for more, as water is abundant. A colony 
settled here in 1872, and though not as successful as some others, still the 



COLORADO. 141 

result is gratifying, as there is a pleasant little settlement of perhaps 500 
people, with a newspaper, schools, churches, flouring-mill, and stores of 
all kinds. 

Erie is a coal-mining town in the centre of the coal-producing districts, 
and is reached by the Boulder Valley Railroad, branching off at Brighton, 
a station on the Denver Pacific. There are five extensive coal-banks in 
the neighborhood, giving employment to a large number of men. Some 
farming is done in the vicinity. Population, about 500. 

Platteville was originally founded by the Platte River Colony in 
1873, but has not developed much. It is pleasantly located, however, 
and surrounded by excellent agricultural land. It has a population of 
200. It is a station on the Denver Pacific, about 35 miles from Denver. 

Littleton is the first principal station on the Denver and Rio Grande 
Railway, and is 10 miles south of Denver. Pleasantly located on the 
east bank of the Platte River, it will eventually become a prosperous 
suburb of the capital, as both the Denver and Rio Grande and the Den- 
ver and South Park Railways pass by it. 

Castle Rock is the county-seat of Douglas county, and is beginning 
to be famous for its excellent building-stone, which is extensively used in 
Denver and elsewhere. It has not a very large population ; settlements 
in the vicinity are scattered, but still it supports a newspaper, school, 
churches, and a number of stores. 

Monument lies about 20 miles north of Colorado Springs, just over 
the crest of the Divide, and is the centre of a rapidly-growing district. 
It draws the trade of a section of country stretching east over twenty 
miles, where farming can be carried on without irrigation. There is also 
a good dairying district in the neighborhood, for, though streams are few 
and scanty, yet an abundance of springs that never run dry give it an 
advantage in this respect over other portions of the State. 

Colorado Springs is the Saratoga of the West. Founded in 1871 
under the auspices of the railway company, it soon came into prominence 
as a favorite resort for invalids, while its close proximity to Monument 
Park, the Garden of the Gods, Glen Eyrie, Manitou, Pike's Peak, Chey- 
enne Canon, and other attractive points soon made it a place toward which 
tourists from all parts of the East tended. The streets and avenues are 
broad, and lined with trees of uniform size planted by the town company 
in the early days of its organization ; these have now grown to a large size, 
and make the city look like a forest during the summer season. Outside 
of Denver, it has the handsomest residences of any town in the State, 
and is attracting to it the wealthy and influential classes to such a degree 



142 THE GREAT WEST. 

that it bids fair to become, socially and intellectually, the most desirable 
residence-city in Colorado. Waterworks and gasworks give quite a 
metropolitan tone to it. Business is good, and constantly increasing 
in volume. The population is set down at 5000, but it is difficult to 
establish it definitely, as it has, and always will have, a shifting popu- 
lation, drawn to it by the natural advantages of the town for invalids 
and pleasure-seekers. An irrigating-canal supplies extensive tracts of 
land with water for gardening purposes, but no large breadths of farm- 
ing-lands can ever be cultivated in the immediate vicinity, as the waters 
of the Fontaine-qui-Bouille are not of sufficient volume to warrant the 
construction of any large canal. An excellent daily journal, the Gazette, 
is published here, and one weekly. Colorado College, a Congrega- 
tional institution, is located here, and has been liberally endowed. A 
stone schoolhouse was early erected, but three buildings are now required 
for the educational needs of the residents. The State Deaf and Dumb 
Institution is located just east of the town, on rising ground commanding 
a beautiful view of the mountains. Colorado Springs can be considered 
the third city in size in the State, but in proportion to its population 
it does not fall behind Denver in social position. 

Pueblo, the principal town and the county-seat of Pueblo county, is 
located in the valley of the Arkansas, near the confluence of that stream 
with the Fontaine-qui-Bouille. It is surrounded with good grazing-lands 
and many hundred square miles of fertile agricultural land, but the un- 
certainty of the current and the shifting sands that constantly wash into 
it make large canals somewhat expensive to keep in good working order. 
Originally, Pueblo was quite a distributing-point for the South and West, 
and a rendezvous for the various stage-lines running in these directions ; 
but the advent of the railroads changed these, and it is now something of 
a railway-town, it being the terminus of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa 
F6 and a highway for the Denver and Rio Grande, which latter also has 
a branch road running from it to Cailon City, 35 miles west. An excel- 
lent daily newspaper is published here, also a weekly ; the town is well 
supplied with schools, churches, public buildings, and is the seat of the 
Insane Asylum of the State. 

CaSon City is the county-seat of Fremont county, and boasts a popu- 
lation of 1200, with banks, newspaper, churches, and schools. The State 
Penitentiary is located here, built of granite quarried from the adjoining 
hills. The town is located just where the Arkansas leaves the foot-hills, 
boasts of mineral springs, both hot and cold, and undeniably possesses 
some superior natural advantages. There are some singularly beautiful 



COLORADO. 143 

canons near by, while the Royal Gorge is but a few miles distant, and is 
soon to be traversed by the iron horse as it steams en route to the great 
carbonate city of Leadville. (These canons are mentioned elsewhere.) 
Near Caiion City considerable attention has been paid to fruit-culture, 
and the results have been gratifying in the extreme. Between Canon 
City and Pueblo, a distance of 35 miles, some farming is carried on. The 
city has advantages that cannot fail to ensure it a prosperous growth. 

Trinidad. — This town is situated near the base of a spur of the 
Rocky Mountains, a few miles from Raton Peak ; it lies on the Las 
Animas River, a stream whose valley, about "150 miles in length, em- 
braces some of the most fertile lands in Colorado. Inexhaustible beds 
of coal are in the immediate vicinity, and hundreds of ovens are engaged 
in making coke, the demand for which is greater than can be supplied. 
Copper and iron ores have been discovered in the neighborhood, while 
the plains east of the town are covered with cattle. In fact, Las Animas 
county, of which it is the seat, is fast coining to the front as the leading 
stock-county of the State. The town has had the New Mexican trade to 
a large extent of late years. Perhaps one-quarter of the people are 
Mexicans in a population of 2000. The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa 
Fe road reaches the town from the east, and the Denver and Rio Grande 
from the north. Its growth within the last few years has been very 
rapid and healthy, and Trinidad, though almost on the southern line 
of the boundary of the State, being only 14 miles from the New Mexican 
line, has a promising future before it. The Raton Pass, aptly denom- 
inated the gateway to New Mexico, is but 15 miles from the town. It 
supports two daily newspapers, schools, churches, and other adjuncts of 
civilized society. 

Buena Yista was founded only last year, but its peculiar location has 
already brought it into prominence, and it seems likely to be a thriving 
town. It rests in the delta formed by Cottonwood Creek at its junction 
with the Arkansas River, and the site is pronounced to be one of the 
finest in the State. Its nearness to Leadville, being only about 35 miles 
from that city, makes it a place where the business-men of that populous 
but unhealthy city could easily reside, now that railroad communication 
is to be established between the two places. Near by are the famous Cot- 
tonwood Springs, becoming known as a resort for invalids troubled with 
rheumatism. There is said to be a large body of land suitable for agri- 
cultural purposes in the neighborhood, but the town is more likely to 
become celebrated as a great watering-place, and may yet rival Colorado 
Springs in attractions. 



144 THE GREAT WEST. 

Alamosa. — This town has been for two or three years the south-west- 
ern terminus of the Denver and Rio Grande Railway, and has grown 
into some importance as the point from which to reach Del Norte, Silver- 
ton, Ouray, and the San Juan country. It has a population of about 
800. Some large forwarding-houses are established here, and an exten- 
sive trade is carried on with the settlements west and south of it. It is 
beautifully laid out on the west bank of the Rio Grande del Norte, and 
is in the centre of San Luis Park. The town is entirely surrounded 
with majestic mountain-ranges, and presents a very attractive appearance. 
Overlooking the site rises Sierra Blanca, its snow-crowned crest stretch- 
ing skyward to an altitude of 14,472 feet. Its snowy mantle is peren- 
nial, and its lofty crest, like the pyramids of the Egyptian dynasties, is 
gilded at each sunrise with the first flushing touches of the coming morn. 
There are many points contiguous to Alamosa that will yet tempt the 
artist to reproduce them. The extension of the railroad south to Conejos 
may take away most of the southern trade from the town, but it will 
still be the main distributing-point for the mining districts to the west 
of it. The Independent is a sprightly local paper, published weekly. 

Saguache is the county-seat of Saguache county, and lies in the 
north-west corner of San Luis Park. It is the business-centre of a 
large and constantly-increasing agricultural and live-stock region, and 
was first settled in 1874. It has a population of 500, and while its growth 
has not been as noticeable as that of towns in mining districts, still it has 
been steady and the business transacted is of a substantial nature. Lead- 
ville has proven a very profitable market for all those engaged in pur- 
suits connected with the soil, and the impetus thus given to the industries 
of Saguache is not now likely to retrograde. One weekly journal, the 
Chronicle, is published, while the town has the usual supply of churches 
and schools. 

Silverton is the county-seat of San Juan county, and is a growing 
and prosperous town. Lofty mountains overhang the lovely little park 
in which the town is located, and in these lie hidden numberless silver- 
veins of varying richness. The great depth of the snow in winter makes 
the approaches to this town almost impassable for several months in the 
year, hence it labors under great disadvantages. The elevation, too, is 
somewhat high, being 9400 feet. In summer coaches connect it with 
Lake City and the outside world. 

Silver Cliff. — This town is hardly two years old, but has sprung to 
a sudden prominence in the mining history of the State that promises to 
be enduring. It is located on the eastern slope of Wet Mountain Val- 



COLORADO. 145 

ley. Two daily papers are already published here, and the fame of the 
mines is likely to make the town one of the most important among the 
many that are rising into prominence in the mineral-bearing sections of 
the State. It is 30 miles from Canon City, with which point it makes 
daily connection by coach. Mills of various kinds have been erected, 
and the undoubted richness of the mines in the vicinity will ensure a 
steady development of business. 

Lake City is the county-seat of Hinsdale, and the principal town in 
it. It is one of the most promising towns in the San Juan country. At 
present it does not control the trade it had in 1876 and 1877, before the 
discovery of carbonates, at which time it was the distributing-point for 
the Sierra country, as San Juan was called ; but it can look forward en- 
couragingly to the future, when attention will be again drawn to the in- 
exhaustible fissure-veins that rib the mountains and indicate the untold 
wealth that lies in them. It is surrounded by these, and has a situation 
bordering on the wildly picturesque. 

Del Norte. — This town lies along the banks of the Eio Grande 
River, and is the county-seat of Rio Grande county and the entrance- 
way to the mines of San Juan. The gold-mining excitement of 1874 
created it, and it has now a population of about 1200, sustains a bank, a 
weekly journal, churches, schools, many large stores and warehouses. It 
is 34 miles from railway communication, its nearest point being Alamosa. 
While not at present presenting any prominence among the towns of the 
State, it may be said to enjoy a present fair share of prosperity, with an 
assured future before it when the San Juan mines are worked. 

LEADVILLE AND THE ADJACENT CAMPS. 

Three years ago Leadville had no existence. It is now a city of giant 
proportions, and challenges the world to produce its superior in all that 
embodies the features of present wealth and future greatness. It lies 
under the deep shadows of the continental Divide, a very Golconda of 
riches within the hills that encircle it, clothed with the majesty of a 
metropolis, and inhabited by a people active in all the industries con- 
nected with professional and commercial life. 

To a newcomer, this city, the creation of three years, presents a fresh 
and startling aspect when compared with the old-established cities whose 
position is the result of decades of growth. Fifty thousand people where 
but a short time ago there were not fifty is an indication of the strength 
of that thirst for gold that first sent Coronado in search of the Seven 
Cities of Cibola in the country to the south of the Carbonate Camp, and 



146 THE GREAT WEST. 

that has in our day gathered together the people of all nations and coun- 
tries, all professions and trades, of all ages and conditions. The reported 
richness of the camp took them in by hundreds daily last year in all 
manner of conveyances and by Nature's own method of transportation. 
Many sought for wealth in a day, and, finding it not, left for other fields. 
But those who remained in more or less measure of success have had 
their persistence crowned with the reward of well-doing. Hardly a 
week passes, even now, without heralding the discovery of new mines 
of fabulous value, while the possibilities of the future are almost suf- 
ficient to turn the brain of the most clear and cool-headed of mankind. 
One hundred and seventy-five producing mines, and thousands more 
possessing good prospects, are a base of calculation for the growth of 
Leadville that no other place in history has ever presented. 

The man who put up the first shop in the town, on Chestnut street, 
refused to give one hundred dollars for it when the owner of the lot on 
which the shop stood demanded that amount. Within ninety days he 
saw the same lot sold for three thousand dollars. Hundreds, like 
him, have hesitated, and lost small fortunes by their hesitation. High 
as are the figures asked now for business and residence lots in choice 
locations, these prices are more likely to advance than recede. But the 
era of wild speculation has passed away, and real-estate transactions are 
on a solid basis. Fortunes are yet to be made, but capital will be re- 
quired in larger amounts than heretofore. 

The climate of Leadville cannot be said to be one conducive to the 
restoration or preservation of health. It is in a region of altitude where 
vegetation is limited, the air of an extreme rarity and full of the delete- 
rious vapors from a score or more of smelting and other works located 
in the very heart of the city. The prevailing diseases are pneumonia, 
pleurisy, diphtheria, cardiac affections, erysipelas, and bronchitis. Acute 
rheumatism also prevails, while lead-poisoning is frequent among those 
employed in the smelting-works. The sanitary condition of the city is 
yet imperfect, and prejudicial to health. There is no system of sewerage, 
and the emanations from the smelting-works fill the atmosphere with 
sulphurous fumes and carbonic-acid gases. A great deal of sickness, 
however, is the result of exposure and imprudence or ignorance on the 
part of newcomers. The sudden entrance into a higher altitude always 
affects those who are not acclimated. Care must be taken to guard the 
body against the sudden changes of the weather. Heavy woollen under- 
garments are an absolute necessity in summer as well as winter, as the 
setting of the sun is always followed by a marked change in the ther- 



COLORADO. 147 

mometer. All exposures and imprudences are to be avoided, and what 
might at a lower altitude be a simple cold, not needing any care or atten- 
tion, in Leadville will speedily develop into a serious case unless prompt- 
ly attended to. It does not get well of itself, as elsewhere. A proper 
sanitary provision will ultimately remedy some of the evils here men- 
tioned : a careful attention to hygienic laws on the part of those who 
reside there will tend to decrease the number of cases of sickness, and 
the time may come when Leadville will enjoy what it certainly does not 
do now — a good reputation as a healthy city. 

The altitude is ten thousand two hundred feet above the level of the 
sea, and the city is located on a broad plateau of land sloping toward the 
Arkansas Valley, and is surrounded by towering mountain-ranges. Its 
supply of water is brought from a distance by means of ditches and pipes, 
while an immense reservoir has been built near by to hold a reserve. 
The water is pure, wholesome, ample, and never-failing. The winters 
are severe and long, while even in summer the nights are cold. Hotel 
accommodations range from one to four dollars per day. Board in pri- 
vate houses is ten dollars per week. Rents are high, close to business- 
streets averaging twenty dollars per month for a single room, running 
down to five dollars on streets a few blocks away. There are some build- 
ings yielding in two months' rent what it cost to build them. Lumber 
is mostly used for building purposes. Native costs $30 per thousand feet; 
Chicago A stock, $125; Chicago siding, $50; shingles, $7; doors and 
sash, from $2.50 to $5. Brick is scarce, bringing $20 per 1000. 

The most successful prospectors are those who know comparatively 
little about minerals. Pluck, perseverance, and a pick are the three 
requisites to success, supplemented by pork and provender. The time 
has gone by when men with small capital can enter into business success- 
fully in Leadville. There are no Chinese ; they were once introduced 
into the gulch, but immediately notified to leave, and since then have 
not ventured to intrude. The articles needed by a prospector depend upon 
his bringing-up and the length of his purse. As one has said, " If he is 
well fixed " he may buy a burro for $25, and on the back of the diminu- 
tive beast pack his tent, pick, shovel, sack of flour, side of bacon, blankets, 
frying-pan, coffee-pot, sugar, coffee, and baking-powder, and start off on 
his venture, comparatively " well fixed." A Sharp's rifle is a handy thing 
to have — not because there is anything or anybody to fear, but elk, ante- 
lope, and Utes are to be met with, and are excellent — when dead. Men 
looking for soft positions as clerks and bookkeepers are not wanted. 
Wages of carpenters, bricklayers, miners, and laborers range from five 



148 THE GREAT WEST. 

to two dollars per day. The working or building season is from May to 
October. The town is full of professional men, but here, as elsewhere, 
" there is always room at the top." Insurance rates rule high on account 
of the buildings being mostly of wood. 

The cost of living may be estimated from the following figures ; of 
course there is a constant fluctuation, according to the season and the abun- 
dance of stocks in the market, but a good idea can be had from the prices 
given : Flour, $6.75 per 100 pounds ; potatoes, 6 cents a pound ; sugar, 
15 ; lard, 15 ; coffee, 30 ; hams, 15 ; bacon, 15 ; tea, 50 cents to $1 ; salt, 
5 cents ; syrup, $1.50 per gallon ; vinegar, 75 cents ; coal oil, $1 ; candles, 
25 cents a pound ; corn meal, 5 cents ; Graham flour, 6 ; raisins, 20 ; cod- 
fish, 12 ; mackerel, 10 ; dried fruits, from 10 to 45 ; beans, 8 ; barley, 12; 
hominy, 10; crackers, 12; butter, 40 to 50; cheese, 25; soap, 8; eggs, 
45 cents a dozen ; poultry, 25 cents a pound ; oat meal, 8 ; mincemeat, 
20 ; dried beef, 20 ; white fish and mackerel, $2 per kitt ; buckwheat 
flour, 10 cents a pound; New Orleans molasses, $1.25 a gallon; canned 
goods, from 25 to 75 cents a can; beef, 15 cents a pound; mutton, 15; 
pork, 20 ; wild meats in their season, 20 ; prairie-chickens and grouse, 60 
to 75 cents a pair; quail, 50 cents a pair; trout, 60 cents a pound; lake 
and sea fish, 35 to 60. 

A trade-report of over twenty million dollars in a city but three years 
old, with a certainty that even this enormous amount does not include the 
whole of the business, presents a statement challenging comparison with 
any Eastern city of three times its size. We group together the different 
branches of trade as proof positive of the marvellous enterprise displayed 
by its busiuess-men and of the activity exhibited in a city built ten thou- 
sand feet above sea-level. If no other evidence was at hand of the num- 
ber of people in and about Leadville, the fact that their necessities de- 
manded such a wave of business would be amply sufficient : Assaying, 
$45,000 ; auction, $260,000 ; barber-shops, $40,000 ; bakers and confec- 
tioners, $310,000 ; books and stationery, $75,000 ; bath-houses, $35,000 
blacksmiths, $900,000; boots and shoes, $165,000; clothing, $650,000 
cigars and tobacco, $100,000 ; dry goods, $1,100,000 ; drugs, $235,000 
fruits, $25,000; furniture, $175,000; glass and queensware, $25,000 
groceries and provisions, $3,500,000; hats and furs, $45,000; harness 
and saddles, $30,000 ; hardware, $750,000 ; hay, flour, feed, and grain, 
$850,000; hotels, $450,000; jewelry, $210,000; lumber, $750,000 
livery and sales stables, $500,000 ; millinery and dressmaking, $75,000 
meat and vegetables, $600,000; manufactures, $400,000; tailors, $30,000 
commissions on mining and real estate, $600,000 ; news depots, $35,000 



COLORADO. 149 

oysters, fish, game, and eggs, $40,000 ; plumbing, $75,000 ; painting and 
papering, $55,000 ; restaurants, $550,000 ; sewing-machines, $10,000 ; 
loans, $4,500,000 ; surveying, $85,000 ; shingle-mills, $200,000 ; storage 
and commissions, $125,000; theatres, $500,000; wood, $60,000 ; liquors, 
$885,000. Grand total, $20,120,000. These figures tell their own story. 
The " boom of business," as it is called, is no way lessening ; on the con- 
trary, it is constantly increasing, and the business of the present year will 
without doubt figure up $30,000,000. 

The first public school organized in Leadville was in July, 1877. In 
the fall of that year a Board of Education was formed and school-terms 
were established. There is now a high school, two intermediate and four 
primary schools, and the last census of the district showed 1230 scholars. 
Nine teachers are employed, whose salaries range from $60 to $125 per 
month. The school property of the district cost about $10,000. It may 
be said that the educational interests of the city are in a fair way to be 
properly taken care of, and that the rising generation will receive all the 
advantages that a liberal-minded policy can give them. Already school 
privileges are of a pronounced and healthy character, while there is no 
doubt that the future will provide all that is necessaiy to render the 
system more complete. 

Six religious denominations have church buildings — the Presbyterians, 
Methodists, Christians, Roman Catholics, Congregationalists, and Episco- 
palians. The pastors of these churches are doing a good and effective work 
in society, and are upheld by a large moral sentiment outside of their 
respective organizations. 

The Leadville bar compares favorably with that of any city of its size, 
and has in its ranks men who are distinguished for legal lore and elo- 
quence. Of course these representative men have come from every State 
in the Union ; some have grown gray through long years of study and 
experience in other fields, and now bring to their new arena of labor the 
ripe fruits of years of toil. The field, like that in all mining camps, is 
a lucrative one, on account of unsettled titles and conflicts of claims and 
interests. Hence, while some mines make their legal owners rich, other 
mines make the legal advisers of the owners feel that bonanzas are not 
entirely confined to the glittering soil, but are also hidden in the " glitter- 
ing generalities " of the law. 

Leadville was incorporated as a city in March, 1879, and is run at an ex- 
pense of nearly five thousand dollars per month. It has a mayor, aldermen, 
clerk, solicitor, physician, engineer, surveyor, street commissioner, fire- 
warden, marshal, and twenty policemen. The salaries of these city officials 



150 THE GREAT WEST. 

range from $250 per month down to $75. A revenue of nearly $200,000 
is derived from licenses and fines, while the expenses are largely under that 
amount ; hence the financial affairs of the corporation may be said to be in a 
healthy condition. But it is a sad and suggestive comment upon the morals 
of Leadville that the arrests from which fines are received average two 
hundred per month, and the great majority of these are traced directly 
to intemperance. An excellent fire department is in effective service. 
Time and money were early given toward the organization and support 
of a fire-service. There are one hook-and-ladder and two hose companies, 
fully equipped and uniformed. There are fifty-nine hydrants or fire- 
plugs through the streets, having a head or pressure of water sufficient 
for all practical purposes, while the Gamewell system of fire-alarm tele- 
graph is in active working order. So it will be seen that full provision 
has been made against the spread of fire. 

The mineral fields of Leadville cover many gulches and mountains, 
and seem to defy all laws of mining deposits. The class is termed car- 
bonates, which is defined by Webster as a salt formed by the union of 
carbolic acid with a base. In working, the first thing found is the drift, 
debris, boulders, and gravel that floods and fires have rounded into hills 
and valleys. These go down a few feet, when a light-colored chalk 
rock is met with ; this is porphyry, and overlies the iron, which is the 
cap-rock of the ore, and is called the " contact." When iron is reached 
and carbonates found beneath it, a mine has value, not before ; for some- 
times no mineral is found beneath the iron. The bed-rock is usually 
blue limestone of an undulating character, and the ore follows the uncer- 
tain course of the wall, and is rich in the depressions and more barren 
in the elevations. There are two theories extant as to the placement of 
the carbonates in the position in which they are found. One is, that they 
were washed into their resting-place ; the other, that internal commotion 
forced the bed-rock and the cap-rock apart, using the carbonates as a lever, 
where they cooled and remained. The weight of opinion is on the side 
of the last supposition. 

Sixteen extensive establishments smelt the gold and silver output. These 
have all been built since September, 1878. The entire value of bullion 
produced by them for the year 1879 reached a grand total of $9,250,000, 
the four principal smelters producing more than one-half of the above 
amount. There are two sampling-works where ores are crushed, assayed, 
and mill-runs made ; these do quite an extensive business in buying and 
shipping ores to foreign smelting companies and base bullion for ship- 
ment to the refineries, the value of the ore they ship out figuring over 



COLORADO. 151 

one and a quarter million of dollars. Taking the amount of bullion-prod- 
uct from the smelting-works, value of ore shipped out by sampling- works, 
the amount sent by private parties to foreign smelters, and the gold-yield 
from placer-mines, a grand total of nearly thirteen millions of dollars for 
one year presents figures for the world to wonder at. 

The amount of mining transfers during the last year gives a good in- 
dication of the wave of prosperity now flowing over the camp. In this 
estimate is omitted all transfers where the amount was less than five hun- 
dred dollars, but includes the sales of placer-mines as well. All sums 
named in considerations which are known to be purely nominal have 
not been taken into account. This grand total of mining transfers for 
the year foots up to $35,350,940. 

One of the most important mining tributaries to Leadville is that 
comprised in the district known as the " Eagle River country," about 
twenty-five miles north-west, where all the elements of a prosperous min- 
ing district seem to be concentrated. Outside of the Carbonate Camp 
proper there is no section of the mineral regions of Colorado, as far as 
known, so full of genuine promise as this ; and its favorable showing, 
and the rapidity with which energetic prospectors are developing a re- 
gion running for fifteen miles up and down the Eagle Eiver, entitle it 
to rank among the best in the State. Before the year is over it may be 
that Eagle City will be no mean rival to Leadville. 

" The Gunnison country," as it is called, is reached from Leadville over 
the Red Mountain Trail through Lake Creek Canon, one of the most 
beautiful of all Colorado's canons. This silver land beyond the Snowy 
Range is likely to be the Mecca of thousands of prospectors during the 
present season, as fabulous stories of its richness in the precious metals 
have been circulated, and will have their due effect upon the minds of 
those who seek Colorado for a fortune. In addition, the Elk Mountain 
region, on the edge of the Ute Reservation, has given substantial indica- 
tions of silver in true fissure-veins varying in length from one to two 
feet. The town of Gothic has already been founded at this point, and 
the country explored for miles around it. The only drawback to the im- 
mediate development of this country is the Ute question. If this is sat- 
isfactorily settled, the vast resources of this entirely undeveloped region 
will be opened up, and we may expect that the Elk Mountains and the 
reservation will become one of the most populous mining camps, and 
possibly the richest, in the State. 

Ruby Camp is in the Gunnison country, and was organized in June, 
1879. It comprises the section embraced by Coal, Ohio, and Anthracite 



152 THE GREAT WEST. 

Creeks and the North Fork of the Gunnison River, and may be said to 
be a tributary to Leadville. Although young, the camp has an apparent- 
ly bright future before it. The mines thus far discovered are all true 
fissures, and where shafts have been sunk a high-grade mineral has been 
reached, composed of brittle ruby, chloride, and black sulphurets of sil- 
ver. Sometimes native and wire silver have been found. About fifty 
mines have been more or less developed, but it is probable that the camp 
during the present season will present a lively appearance, as saw-mills, 
smelters, and roasters are to be taken into the district this spring. The 
Denver and South Park Railway is pointing in this direction. It is said 
that in addition to its mineral prospects there is a large deposit of bitu- 
minous coal about ten miles distant, which excels even the Trinidad coal 
for coking purposes. The main town in this district is named Silver 
Gate, and is beautifully located. 

Ten Mile is an important mining district about fifteen miles from 
Leadville, on the western slope of the range, and is in a valley of the 
same name lying about eleven hundred feet above the sea-level and from 
three-fourths to one and a half miles wide. There are three towns, 
named Kokomo, Carbonateville, and Ten-Mile City, in close proximity 
to each other. The district has three smelters, and it is said shows more 
mineral than Leadville did two years ago ; but capitalists have not 
invested here as yet to any great extent, though there are scores of mines 
giving abundant promise. The valley is said to be far more healthy 
than Leadville, while it also possesses some of the most magnificent 
scenery in the country in Ten-Mile Canon, of which notice is made 
elsewhere. 



In June, 1858, the first party of prospectors (from Georgia, led by 
Green Russell) reached Cherry Creek. In September of the same year a 
town was established on the present site of Denver, and called St. Charles. 
In October a rival town, called Auraria, was located on the west side of 
the creek. In November the Denver City Town Company was organ- 
ized and the site of St. Charles occupied. Considerable rivalry existed 
between the two towns until the year 1861, when Auraria began to lose 
ground. 

Early in 1859 a hotel, blacksmith-shop, bakery, and carpenter-shop 
were erected, and in April the Rocky Mountain News was issued by Wil- 
liam N. Byers & Co. In the same month a convention was held to form 
a government for a State that was to be called Jefferson. In May a post- 



COLORADO. 153 

office was established. In June, Horace Greeley arrived by coach, en 
route to California, and addressed the citizens of the town before visiting 
the mines. In December the first mayor was elected, under a city char- 
ter granted by the provisional Legislature. In October, O. J. Goldrick 
opened the first school. By New Year's Day, 1860, Denver had two 
hundred houses, while Auraria had almost twice that number, the com- 
bined city census giving a population of over one thousand people, rep- 
resenting all classes, creeds, and nationalities. 

In April, 1860, the towns of Auraria and Denver were consolidated. 
On the Fourth of July the patriotic pioneers celebrated the day in a 
grove close by. The close of the year found about four thousand people 
in the town, with three day schools, five churches, and three newspapers. 
During the winter of 1860-61 a stampede was made by hundreds of the 
inhabitants of Denver and the adjoining mining camps to the San Juan 
Mountains, whose reported discoveries were shortly pronounced a hum- 
bug. In April news of the rebellion reached Denver, and by August 
recruiting was going on for the first regiment of volunteers. For the 
next few years the rebellion, the big fire of 1863, and the Indian war of 
1864 blockaded the route to the States, paralyzed the industries of the town, 
and threatened danger in every direction. Dull times prevailed until 
1866, when a reaction set in. In that year over three hundred new 
buildings were erected, and the census showed a bond fide population of 
four thousand, with perhaps half as many as transients. In 1867 a 
Board of Trade was organized, and through its efforts the first attempt 
at building a railroad to connect the embryo City of the Plains with 
Cheyenne, and so obtain railway communication with the East and West, 
was made, and by 1870 the project had been successfully carried out. 
The Denver Pacific Railway reached the city, and it was no longer an 
isolated point apart from civilization, but part and parcel of the great 
overland highway from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific. 

Such is the brief epitome of the first eleven years of the history of 
Denver, but it might be well to give some statistics in connection with 
its commercial prosperity at that time, in order that its present position 
may be the better placed in contrast. The place was well and solidly 
built up, many of its banks, churches, public buildings, and principal 
business-blocks comparing favorably with those of much older and larger 
cities in the East. It contained at that time about fifteen hundred build- 
ings, with a population of nine thousand. The sales of general mer- 
chandise footed up .$8,500,000 for the year, while coal, lumber, land sales 
to new settlers, live-stock and beef, flour and the value of new buildings, 



154 THE GREAT WEST. 

increased the total to nearly twelve millions. The banks carried an aver- 
age of $1,500,000 in deposits, and the shipment of bullion was nearly 
$6,000,000. Four lines of railway were built or building, centring in 
Denver — the Kansas Pacific, Denver Pacific, Colorado Central, and 
Boulder Valley. The Denver and Kio Grande, leading southward, was 
being graded, and the narrow-gauge system from Golden to the moun- 
tains projected. One woollen-mill, two flouring-mills, an iron-foundry, 
two planing-millsj a terra-cotta factory, a carriage-factory, several wagon- 
factories, a turning-shop, and other industrial enterprises marked the prog- 
ress the town was making in the department of manufactures. A branch 
of the United States Mint was in operation, while a theatre gladdened the 
pleasure-loving public with its nightly attractions. The business of the 
town was on a solid basis, and the outlook exceedingly favorable. 

From 1870 to the present time the growth of Denver has been steady, 
while to-day the city enjoys the flood-tide of prosperity consequent upon 
the rapid settling up of the country. During the year 1879 the arrivals 
averaged two thousand per week, filling the hotels to their utmost capacity 
and taxing the ingenuity of landlords, while private houses for boarding 
were filled to repletion. 

To-day there is no more beautiful and attractive city than is Denver. 
She has proven her title to the name of the " Queen City of the Plains," 
and as a thriving trade-centre, great thoroughfare, and pleasure resort she 
has become known all over the Union. For a hundred and fifty miles 
the eye can take in the outlying foot-hills and the Snowy Range, forming 
a landscape of whose never-ending beauty the eye cannot grow weary. 
The streets are broad, solid, and cleanly, lined with massive business- 
blocks, elegant residences, and cozy cottages, while shade trees and 
lawns abound. 

A review of the trade of Denver for the year 1879 will give some idea 
of the advance during the last ten years. Twenty-six millions of dollars' 
worth of business was done in the leading branches, while those not 
enumerated will swell the figures up to thirty millions. The banking 
business is a safe index to the growth and prosperity of a community. 
Four national and one private bank, with a combined capital of $600,000, 
show total deposits amounting to $5,875,665, and loans and discounts to 
$2,721,125. The amount of exchange drawn was $36,500,000. The 
building of the reduction-works at Argo within the last two years has 
materially aided the growth of the city. Removed from Black Hawk 
early in 1879, active operations have been carried on and a large amount 
of bullion produced, amounting in gold, silver, and copper to $3,000,000. 



COLORADO. 155 

Real-estate transfers have been unusually active of late, and an advance 
in prices of nearly fifty per cent, has gladdened the hearts and filled the 
purses of fortunate owners. The records of the Recorder's office show 
transfers amounting to about two thousand in number, with a considera- 
tion of nearly three million dollars. This is an excellent showing for one 
year, but the present season will probably double it, both in the number 
of transfers and amount of values, thereby proving the existence of a 
healthy financial condition, the confidence of capitalists in the assured 
growth of the city, and establishing beyoud question the fact that it is 
to be the largest and most important commercial centre between the 
Missouri River and the Pacific Ocean. 

The number of buildings erected during the last year is without pre- 
cedent in the history of the city. Yet the demand for them has far ex- 
ceeded the supply, rapid as it has been, and there seems to be no likelihood 
of any cessation of building operations during the present or the next few 
years. Denver seems to possess peculiar attractions for those who are 
making fortunes in the mining districts, and is yet to become famous as 
the residence of a score or more of " bonanza kings," who are putting 
their surplus moneys into splendid business-blocks and superb private 
residences. Probably five hundred new buildings were erected last year, 
costing $2,250,000. Among the most prominent of these may be men- 
tioned the Grand Hotel, costing $250,000 ; the Tabor Block, $180,000 ; 
Glenarm Hotel, $40,000 ; Twenty-fourth street public school, $24,000 ; 
Wentworth House, $30,000 ; Senator Hill's private residence, $20,000 ; 
Washington Terrace, $18,000. Scores of elegant residences, costing from 
$3000 to $10,000, have been put up, while the number of tenement- 
houses, containing from four to six rooms, has not been half equal to the 
demand. It may be that for several years to come this remarkable 
growth can be looked for, as there seems to be no diminution in the 
arrival of strangers and no abatement in the influx of capital. 

The street-railway system, of late years fully equal to the requirements 
of business, is now hardly adequate. The number of cars put on has 
been doubled during the year. There are only eight miles of road in 
operation, but the widening of the area of residences, and their exten- 
sion into the suburbs east and west and south, will necessitate new 
branches to accommodate the needs of the residents of these points for 
rapid transportation from their places of business to their homes. 

During the year two telephone systems have been in operation, with 
nearly a thousand connections. These lines reach out to the neighboring 
towns of Golden, Central, Black Hawk, and other points. A consolida- 



156 THE GREAT WEST. 

tion of the two companies was made early in the present year, and they 
are now practically under one management, doing a very efficient service 
and coming more and more into popular favor. 

The branch mint at Denver purchased over six hundred thousand dol- 
lars' worth of the precious metal. It is believed that additional facilities 
will shortly be provided for manipulating the minerals of the country. 

The post-office business has doubled during the last year. There is 
now a carrier service in operation. The money-order department issued 
orders amounting to $325,000, and received from other offices $1,112,000. 
It paid out on domestic and foreign orders $435,000, and remitted nearly 
$1,000,000 to other points. In the registry department 12,000 letters 
and packages were sent, and 16,500 received. The total expense of con- 
ducting the office was about $21,000, while the receipts from the sale of 
stamps and envelopes, box-rents, unpaid letters, and waste paper was 
$82,000. 

The city is supplied with water for fire, domestic, and manufacturing 
purposes by the Denver Water Company, with works constructed on the 
Holly system. Three million gallons were furnished in 1878, double 
the quantity of last year, and the limits of the works thereby reached. But 
new works, costing a quarter of a million of dollars, have been constructed, 
a large reservoir or lake established a short distance from the corporate 
limits, and in future the people are ensured an abundant supply of pure 
water, the capacity of the new works being from six to eight million 
gallons every twenty-four hours, supposed to be equal to the needs of a 
city of seventy-five thousand inhabitants. Thirty miles of mains have 
been laid, and more are being extended in directions where they are 
needed. 

The city government is composed of a mayor, clerk, treasurer, engineer, 
chief of police, attorney, police justice, street commissioners, chief of. fire 
department, and twelve aldermen, two from each ward. The fire depart- 
ment includes four fire and hose and two hook-and-ladder companies. 
There are the county hospital and St. Vincent's and St. Joseph's Homes, in 
charge of the Sisters of Charity. Three express companies have general 
offices — the Kansas Pacific, Adams, and Leadville. The Western Union 
Telegraph has its general Western office here. 

Of newspapers and periodicals we enumerate the following : Daily. — 
Rocky Mountain News, Tribune, Republican, Post, Hotel Reporter, and 
Times ; each of these issues a weekly edition. Weekly. — Farmer, Herald, 
Journal, Mining Review, Financial Era, and Gazette- Advocate. Month- 
ly. — The Antelope and The Colonist. 



COLORADO. 157 

The churches of Denver are well sustained, and some of the edifices 
are an adornment to the city. The pastors, as a rule, are faithful in the 
performance of their duty ; some of them are quite talented and draw 
" full houses " — if the term may be allowed — every Sabbath day. Two 
services are generally held — one in the morning and one in the evening — 
with Sabbath-school in the afternoon. Wednesday evening of each week 
is devoted by all the denominations to a meeting for prayer. During the 
annual week of prayer union services are generally held. Between the 
pastors of the various churches a good feeling of harmony prevails. Each 
in his own immediate circle finds his head, heart, and hands fully employed ; 
hence sectarian squabbles are hardly known. The influence of the pas- 
tors of the churches is felt on every hand in every kind of public enter- 
prise having reform for its base. Especially in temperance-work have 
they been active. They, aided by the Good Templars, inaugurated the 
Blue Ribbon movement in the State three years ago, which has been so 
effectual in the reformation of hundreds who are now sober and indus- 
trious citizens. 

The first preaching and praying ever done in the State of Colorado 
was done in Denver as early in its history as December, 1859, when the 
voice of one George Washington Fisher was heard preaching in the wil- 
derness, and from that day onward religious privileges have not been 
lacking for those who are so inclined ; and the proof that a large pro- 
portion of the community is a church-going class is found in the twenty- 
six churches and religious organizations that now exist in Denver. The 
Baptists have three — Zion, First Baptist, and Antioch. The first and the 
last of these are colored. The second is presided over by Rev. F. M. 
Ellis, an eloquent divine. The Catholic element sustains St. Mary's 
Cathedral, Church of the Sacred Heart, and St. Elizabeth's church. Two 
are Congregational — the First and the Second. The Episcopalians have 
four — St. John's, Trinity Memorial, Emmanuel, and All Saints'. There 
are two Jewish — the Emmanuel and the Ohawi Emune. The Methodists 
are numerically the strongest denomination in Denver. They sustain 
seven churches, as follows : African Methodist Episcopal, California 
Street Methodist, German Episcopal, Lawrence Street, M. E. Church 
South, St, James, and Evans Mission Chapel. The Rev. Earl Cranston 
is the bright and shining light of this branch of Zion. The Presbyterians 
have three churches — the Central, St. Paul's, and Seventeenth Street. 
Rev. H. C. Westwood, a distinguished divine lately from Philadelphia, 
presides over the first, which has the most pretentious church-edifice in 
the city. There are one Second Christian, one Reformed, one Unitarian 



158 THE GREAT WEST. 

church, and a railroad mission-school ; in this last named all the churches 
are interested, and unite in sustaining it. 

It will be seen that thus far the religious facilities have been ample for 
the needs of the people ; but the rapid influx of population has filled all 
the churches to overflowing, and either larger edifices must shortly be 
built or new societies organized around which can crystallize the new- 
comers who are making homes for themselves in the beautiful and attrac- 
tive " City of the Plains." 

Of secret and benevolent societies the following are in successful opera- 
tion, earnestly working in their respective fields of labor : 

Masonic. — Grand Lodge A. F. and A. M., with an annual session in 
September ; Grand Royal Arch Chapter ; Grand Commandery K. T. ; 
Denver, No. 5, A. F. and A. M. ; Union, No. 7, A. F. and A. M. ; Den- 
ver Chapter, No. 2, R. A. M. ; Colorado Commandery, No. 1, K. T. ; 
Pentalpha, No. 5, F. and A. A. ; Delta Lodge of Perfection, No. 1 ; 
Mackay Chapter of Rose Croix, No. 1. 

Knights of Pythias. — Colorado Lodge, No. 1 ; Damon, No. 2 ; the 
Endowment Rank, K. of P. 

Odd Fellows. — Grand Lodge, with annual session in October ; Union, 
No. 1; Denver, No. 4; Germania, No. 14; Denver Encampment, No. 2; 
Humboldt, No. 6 ; Arapahoe, No. 10 ; Colorado Degree Lodge, No. 1 ; 
Samaritan Lodge, No. 5. 

Champions of the Red Cross. — Pioneer Encampment, No. 1. 

Good Templars. — Denver, No. 12; Harmony, No. 4; Happy Home, 
No. 21. 

Benevolent Societies. — Denver Lodge, No. 171, I. O. B. B. ; Denver 
Lodge, No. 2, A. O. U. W. ; Standard Lodge, No. 3, A. O. U. W. ; Colo- 
rado Lodge, Knights of Honor ; Gruetli Verein (Swiss) ; Skandia Bene- 
ficial Society ; Firemen's Relief Association ; St. Vincent de Paul Society ; 
Denver Irish Progressive Society ; Ancient Order of Hibernians ; St. 
Joseph's Total Abstinence Society. 

The school system of Denver is well established, thoroughly classified, 
and under excellent superintendence. Eleven schools, including the high 
school, are open, but cannot meet the demands upon them ; in several of 
them sessions of half a day only are allowed to certain classes. But this 
condition of things is not likely to last long. 

A noticeable feature, establishing the recognition Denver has received 
in the East and in England, is the introduction of companies controlling 
large amounts of capital, which is used in developing the industries of the 
country at large. Two years ago the advent of the Colorado Land and 



COLORADO. 159 

Investment Company of London (limited) marked a new era in the finan- 
cial history of Denver. Making the city its head-quarters, money was 
loaned, especially throughout the farming section, at a rate fifty per cent, 
lower than had prevailed at banking institutions and with private indi- 
viduals. A drop of from twenty-four and eighteen per cent, to twelve 
per cent, per annum made a vast difference to a large class of people on 
whom grasshopper visitations had fallen heavily. The relief came at an 
opportune season for these in the establishment of this new company. 

The success attending this company has led to the establishment of 
others, based on foreign capital, for the construction of canals, the sale of 
lands under them, the erection of hotels, and other enterprises involving 
the outlay of vast sums of money. The Weld and Larimer Irrigating 
Canal in the northern part of the State is one of these, under the manage- 
ment of the same parties interested in the loan company. This canal is 
nearly finished, and will prove of incalculable benefit. 

But a greater enterprise still, in the same line, has been inaugurated by 
which Denver will be directly benefited, though the whole State will ulti- 
mately feel its wholesome influence. This is the Platte Canal, by which 
hundreds of thousands of acres in the immediate vicinity of Denver will 
be thrown open to cultivation. The arable lands of the country will be 
increased twenty per cent, by this canal, and be capable of meeting the 
home demand for the products of the soil. A system of reservoirs in 
connection with the canals is contemplated, by which water running to 
waste in seasons when no irrigation is going on will be stowed away, 
to be drawn upon in emergencies. The effect of such an agricultural 
development near Denver will give an impetus to its growth that as yet 
cannot be realized to its fullest extent. The canal is now in course of 
construction, and before the year 1881 closes will be completed. Denver 
will derive immediate benefit while its construction is going on, but when 
the lands are settled it will increase its business, its real-estate values, and 
its importance in no small degree. 

SOCIETY AND CHURCHES. 

Everywhere in Colorado — the mining camps being no exception — good 
society may be said to exist. Moral and religious teachings are observed 
with the same strictness as in any of the established cities of the Eastern 
States. Indeed, why should they not? The inhabitants of the State 
have come from every part of the Union, bringing their culture, their 
intelligence, their thrift, with them. While there is much that may be 
denominated rude and uncouth on the general surface of society, there is 



160 THE GREAT WEST. 

an undercurrent that is strong and deep and ceaseless, for ever flowing 
in channels that conserve society, elevate its tone, and lift it upon a plane 
of civilization worthy the respect and recognition of the most refined and 
cultured minds in the Union. 

It can no longer be said of society in Colorado that it is rude and 
rough ; during the last ten years a great progress has been made in toning 
down frontier traits, rounding the sharp angles of character, and mould- 
ing the peculiarities of the adventurous classes who were first tempted 
hither by a thirst for gold ; and now the rapid building of cities and 
towns, the establishment upon a permanent basis of schools of learning 
and religion, the accumulation of material wealth, and the constant acces- 
sion made to the population by the wealthy, the cultured, the renowned 
of other States, places Colorado on an equality with her older sisters in 
respect to all the privileges that are peculiar to older and more densely 
populated sections of the country. 

It is not to be imagined, therefore, that Colorado is inhabited by a half- 
civilized race of beings. All over the State are to be found communities 
of orderly and ambitious citizens, around whom are clustered all the re- 
fining influences of the family circle. In the cities and larger towns 
entertainments, concerts, lectures, festivals, balls, and other amusements 
are quite as frequent and as creditably managed as in other places of like 
population. The public-school system will compare favorably with that 
of any other State, and in addition to this there are educational institu- 
tions of an advanced character, now firmly established, at which thorough 
and complete academical and collegiate courses can be pursued if desired. 
Throughout the State all the religious denominations are well represented. 
There is not a town, and indeed hardly a village, in the State that has not 
its place of worship, and the sound of the church-going bell is as familiar 
to the ear as it was in years gone by in valleys lying far away down the 
slopes of the Prairies, among distant villages by the sides of the great 
lakes or the still greater sea. There is no lack of religious privileges for 
those who desire and take them into account as they canvass the possibil- 
ities of a future home in the Great West. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

The public-school system is based upon that adopted by Illinois. The 
people of Colorado have always been interested in the educational inter- 
ests of the State, and there have been erected a number of large and ex- 
pensive school-buildings that would do no discredit to towns three times 
as large in more settled communities. 




A GLIMPSE OF DENVER, COLORADO. 



COLORADO. 161 

The schools are maintained by a direct tax, averaging three mills to the 
dollar, on all the taxable property of the State, and by the proceeds of 
the lease or sale of school-lands, while the residents of each school dis- 
trict have a right to levy taxes for special purposes within their own 
jurisdiction. The fund arising from the leasing or sale of school-lands 
thus far has not been large, but the rapid increase of population will in 
time make the revenue derived from this source quite a respectable sum, 
and aid in keeping at low figures the general, tax, which by law has for 
its minimum two mills on the dollar. 

The school law makes it the duty of county superintendents to examine 
all persons who present themselves at the quarterly examination, and to 
grant certificates to such as are deemed worthy ; and it is further pro- 
vided that no person shall be paid out of the public fund for teaching 
unless such person holds- a certificate of competency signed by the said 
superintendent. A series of uniform questions has been prepared by 
the State superintendent by order of the State Board of Education, and 
three grades of certificates are issued, as follows : 

First-Grade Certificate. — First Group. — Average, 90 per cent. ; 
no branch below 75 per cent. Second Group. — Average, 75 per cent. ; 
no branch below 60 per cent. 

Second-Grade Certificate. — First Gi^oup. — Average, 75 per cent. ; 
no branch below 60 per cent. Second Group. — Average, 60 per cent. ; 
no branch below 40 per cent. 

Third-Grade Certificate. — First Group. — Average, 60 per cent, ; 
no branch below 50 per cent. Second Group. — Average, 50 per cent. ; 
no branch below 40 per cent. 

The topics are divided into two groups, to wit : First Group — Arith- 
metic, United States history and Constitution, reading, orthography, gram- 
mar, theory and practice, and geography. Second Group — Physiology 
and laws of health, school law, botany, and other natural sciences. 

The State law also provides that State diplomas of perpetual validity 
may be issued by the State Board of Education to applicants who have 
taught two years or more in this State with eminent success, and who 
pass a satisfactory examination or who have received a diploma else- 
where. 

By the last biennial report of the State superintendent we find that the 
number of persons in 1878 between the ages of six and twenty-one was 
26,473, with an average percentage of enrollment of 63 ; number of 
school districts in the State, 372 ; number of schoolhouses, 249 ; value 
of schoolhouses and property, $474,771 ; number of male teachers, 226 ; 
li 



162 THE GREAT WEST. 

number of female teachers, 341 ; average wages of male teachers, $49.90 
per month — of female teachers, $46.95 ; average cost per month for each 
pupil, $2.72. The table of wages shows a decrease of ten per cent, from 
the preceding year, but it will be observed that the wages of male and 
female teachers are nearer an equality than in many other States. When 
the wages of female teachers in Massachusetts average one-half less than 
male teachers, it is gratifying to note that more are employed than males, 
showing that the sex is recognized as better instructors for the young. 

As yet public-school libraries are few in number ; there are not over 
four thousand volumes in the various libraries. 

There is a State university located at Boulder, with a preparatory and 
a normal department, the average age of the pupils, of whom one hun- 
dred are in attendance, being eighteen years. In the preparatory depart- 
ment Greek, Latin, German, French, geometry, algebra, physics, and 
chemistry are the branches taught ; in the normal department, geog- 
raphy, arithmetic, English grammar, United States history, reading with 
phonetic analysis, and spelling. The university is supported at an ex- 
pense of about $15,000 per annum. 

There is a college at Colorado Springs, where there are four courses of 
instruction — for the degree of bachelor of arts, preparatory school, nor- 
mal school, mining and metallurgy. This college was founded in 1874, 
and is open to students of all denominations at a cost for tuition of $25 
per year, so that the institution is practically free to all. There are four 
terms in each year. 

The State Agricultural College is located at Fort Collins. The lead- 
ing object of this institution is to impart a thorough and practical know- 
ledge of all those branches and sciences that pertain to agriculture and 
the mechanic arts. Lectures on practical agriculture, weekly exercises in 
English composition and declamation, contemporaneous history, lessons 
in free-hand, industrial, and perspective drawing, are continued through- 
out the entire course. The course embraces three terms of four years. 
The calendar is made to conform to the necessities of an agricultural col- 
lege. Its vacation is in winter, but this interval between the autumn and 
spring terms is employed by the faculty in visiting and lecturing on 
topics connected with their departments in various portions of the State. 
Last winter a series of farmers' institutes was held with great success. 
Tuition is free to all within the State. 

There are a number of private institutions of learning at different 
points through the State, so that it is to be said of Colorado that the 
needs of the rising generation are recognized and liberally provided for, 



COLORADO. 



163 



considering the scattered nature of its settlements and the constant changes 
going on within its borders. The progress in this direction made during 
the last few years is extremely gratifying to the most ardent educational 
enthusiasts. It is the boast of Denver that her public schools are equal 
to the best in the country. 




PROSPECTING. 



PROSPECTING is simply hunting for mineral — in this case one of 
the precious metals — where the mineral lies in fissure-veins deeply 
imbedded in granite, gneissoid, or rock of like density. The work not only 
requires muscle, courage, and patience, but a considerable knowledge of 
geology and mineralogy. The prospector must have some idea of the 
external indication of the presence of veins which may be hundreds of 
feet below and thousands of feet distant from the point where the " blos- 
som" is found. 

First, the prospector seeks the " blossom " which indicates the presence 
of the mineral, and then he next tries to find out where it comes from. 
He examines carefully the topography of the country, turns over loose 
stones, peers into and along beds of streams, and is perhaps at last re- 
warded by finding the " blossom "-rock. He carefully turns it over. If 
its edges are sharp and defined and the fracture evidently of recent date, 
he .is satisfied the vein is near at hand. If, on the contrary, the corners 
are rounded and the fracture of remote date, he is satisfied it must have 
travelled a considerable distance. In either case, he must hunt patiently, 
and often for a long time, before he strikes the prize. 

But prospecting at Leadville is quite another affair. The carbonate 
mineral, instead of being found in vertical lines, held in the strong em- 
brace of the solid rock, which must be drilled and blasted and tunnelled 
before the mineral is reached, occupies a more nearly horizontal position, 
varying with the dip of the surface. Up to the present time there are no 
certain superficial evidences of the existence of the mineral. From the 
day the first carbonate-mine was struck down to the present time the pro- 
spector has worked in the dark until his spade struck the ore. Proximity 
to a known body of ore is perhaps the only " guide." If a person gets a 
claim near a mine in which mineral is known to exist, he has reasonable 
assurance of a valuable claim. And it being a determined fact that car- 
bonate ore exists in large and paying quantities not only at Leadville, but 

164 



PROSPECTING. 165 

in various directions for fifty miles around, the prospector who starts in 
to-day has every advantage over those whose luck alone brought to light 
the first carbonate ore in the Leadville district. 

Pay ore is found at Leadville on Fryer, Carbonate, and Iron Hills, in 
all the gulches above the timber-line, across the valley of the Arkansas, 
at Oro, Malta, near the grass-roots and hundreds of feet below the surface. 
The same conditions obtain at Ten Mile, Eagle River, on Elk Mountains, 
at Twin Lakes, beyond the Saguache, in the Gunnison country, at Chalk 
Mountain, Tin Cup — shafts being sunk and new paying mines being con- 
stantly found. If these facts mean anything, they mean that inasmuch 
as the prospector who goes in now has the benefit of all who have gone 
in before, and a knowledge of the great extent of the carbonate deposit 
to guide him to the best location, he stands a better chance of speedy and 
sure success than he would have stood a year ago. The pioneers have 
" blazed " the way, and it is an easy matter for any man with provisions 
for a few months, a level head, and vigorous muscle to follow a path 
already marked out. In prospecting three men should go together. They 
need each a pick, costing $1.50, a shovel, $1.50; they are then fully 
equipped, so far as tools are concerned, for commencing a shaft, which 
should be about four feet by six. After going down a few feet they need 
a bucket, costing $5, windlass and rope, at say $25, drills and hammers, 
fuse and blasting-powder, at $10 — making a total cost for outfit of $49. 
If working some distance from town a burro will be needed, and can be 
obtained at from fifteen to thirty dollars. Provisions for a party of three 
would not cost above thirty dollars a month, and a temporary shanty can 
be built in a short time, at no cost save labor. Thus a prospecting-tour 
of two months can be made at a total expenditure of less than one hun- 
dred dollars. Many of the most valuable mines were discovered on a less 
expenditure than this, and what has been done will be repeated hundreds 
of times before the summer is over. There remains after getting the out- 
fit nothing to do but " dig." 



" GRUB-STAKES." 

A grub-stake is a prospecting outfit furnished by men of wealth — i. e. 
those who can command a hundred dollars or so — to impecunious miners. 
For instance, A and B desire to prospect, and, not having the means to 
procure the necessary outfit, or perhaps having sunk shafts until their means 
are exhausted, C comes along and gives them a " grub-stake " for an in- 
terest in whatever they may find. In other words, he " mines by proxy." 



166 THE GREAT WEST. 

A grub-stake of less than fifty dollars got Governor Tabor one-half of the 
Little Pittsburg and made him a millionaire, and grub-stakes, properly- 
placed and followed up, are to-day as good investments as any man ought 
to wish. 

LOCATING A MINE. 

The process of coining into possession of a mine is this : A man stakes 
out his claim — three hundred by fifteen hundred feet. To do this he sets 
up a stake three inches in diameter, square at the top, and if his name be 
John Smith writes in pencil upon the four sides, " John Smith's Lode, 
Corner No. 1." He steps oif the distance and sets up such a stake on 
each corner, marking each stake in succession, as " Corner No. 2," and so 
on. Then he begins to sink his shaft. Two men work the windlass and 
one digs, and the three take turns in digging. Sometimes a fourth man 
cuts the timber to be used in " timbering " the shaft ; that is, walling it 
up to prevent its caving in. Good saplings adapted for the purpose grow 
on the mountain-side, and it takes all the trees on fifteen acres to timber 
the average shaft. Thus it happens that the original owners of a claim 
often number four men, and almost always number three. The shaft is 
usually four feet wide and six feet long. Three men working at such a 
shaft can go down through the first fifty feet at the rate of from three to 
five feet per day, timbering as they go, and through the next fifty feet, 
two and a half to three and a half feet per day ; that will probably bring 
them to rock, through which they must blast, and they cannot go faster 
than two feet per day, and even that is good work. On a contract the 
first fifty feet will cost $3.50 per foot, the next fifty, $5.50 per foot, and 
after that it will cost from $8 to $15 per foot to go down, according to 
the hardness and depth of the rock. The contract-price for sinking a 
shaft averages $4.50 to $6 per foot, including curbing. 

Thus the diggers go down through the wash and the porphyry — and 
the rock and the iron if they find the last two — until they come to the 
" contact." The depth which they have to go varies, as I have said. In 
the Adelaide Mines mineral is in some places but four feet under the sur- 
face ; in the Morning Star it is two hundred and fifty feet. On an aver- 
age it is one hundred feet down. Even the most experienced miner can- 
not tell, by looking at what is before him, whether the stun has mineral 
in it or not. So he has it assayed. This costs from $1.50 to $5, and 
takes from two hours to a day. If he finds he has mineral, he goes for 
a United States surveyor and has his claim surveyed and recorded, and 
he writes on his four stakes the date when the survey was made. He 



PROSPECTING. 167 

now owns the claim. It is his without having to pay the government 
anything, as the latter gives the claim to the man who finds the mineral. 
It is a disputed point whether iron is " mineral " in the sense contem- 
plated by the law, but the custom here is to have surveys made on finds 
of iron. 

In staking out his claim the owner is not compelled to run his survey 
over the claim that he first staked out. He can shift his lines in any di- 
rection that he chooses, determining that by the pitch and direction of 
his own vein or deposit. It will often happen that he will thus take in 
the shaft which is being sunk by another man near him — will " survey 
him in," as it is called — and that other man has no recourse. 

Suppose several men have claims staked out near his, and have shafts 
started. As soon as the first man strikes mineral the others feel that 
their chances for striking it are good, and they all go to work with might 
and main to be the next to strike it, for that man is the lucky one, since 
he has the next choice of land. Additional " shifts " of men are put on, 
the work goes forward night and day, a horse is used to turn the wind- 
lass if it can be so arranged, and the race is as if for dear life. When 
the next man finds mineral he makes a break for a surveyor ; and if two 
strike it at the same time they race like mad for one, for the claim first 
surveyed is the one that holds the land. 

It often happens that the mineral found has such a direction that a 
survey has to be made over a claim already surveyed. In that case the 
ne\? survey can hold the land within its claim and outside the other claim, 
but that part lying within the first claim remains to the owners of the first 
claim. However, if the second claim is a rich one, the overlapping por- 
tions have enough mineral in them to satisfy any man ; but in any case 
the new claimant yields with good grace. Surveys are always made one 
hundred and fifty feet each way to the side-lines from the discovery-shaft; 
they cannot be made two hundred feet one way and one hundred feet the 
other, nor be divided up unevenly ; therefore it happens often that a man 
cannot get a " full claim " — that is, one three hundred feet wide — but has 
to be content with what he can get. 

"bonding a mine" 

is a process needing explanation. After a set of men have found mineral 
it frequently happens that they bond it to some one to sell — that is, they 
execute an instrument setting forth that, in consideration of the bonder 
putting up so much of a forfeit, he shall have a certain number of days 
— thirty, sixty, or ninety — within which he may sell the mine at what- 



168 THE GREAT WEST. 

ever he can get for it, with the understanding that if the sale is made the 
owners of the mine are to receive a stipulated price. For example, the 
Little Giant had a half interest bonded for $110,000. The bonder was 
at liberty to sell that half interest for as much more as he could get for 
it within the time agreed upon. If he failed to sell it within that time 
he lost his forfeit — forfeits range from one to five thousand dollars — and 
the control of the mine reverted to the owners. 

WAGES. 
The wages paid to good miners here have steadily kept at $3 a day ; 
foremen, $100 to $125 a month. Surface common labor is paid from 
$2.25 to $2.50 a day. The roads from all mines, except those located on 
Iowa Gulch, are of continuous down-grade. At hauling ore teamsters 
load fully four thousand pounds per trip, and their contracts are so made 
as to give them from nine to ten dollars daily gross earnings. From 
Little Pittsburg to Harrison or Grant's smelter they receive from $1.75 
to $2 per ton ; from the Adelaide Consolidated Mine of Malta, $2.25 per 
ton. These prices make it cost about one dollar per ton to get the ore 
" on the dump " — that is, on the pile at the mouth of the mine — and one 
dollar per ton more to deliver it to the smelter. Very little blasting is 
required in the mines, most of the mineral being capable of extraction 
with a pick and shovel. 

DEFINITIONS OP MINING TERMS. 

The newcomer into a mining camp will hear and read of many things 
totally unknown to any other kind of business, and he will find a know- 
ledge of the various mining terms of no little benefit as well as pleasure. 
He would not want a " stope " for his dinner, nor to regard " country 
rock " as necessarily remote from a populous city, nor would he desire in 
a mining camp to always regard a " horse " as a good " feeder." " Stamps " 
he will not find so easily transported as our national currency, nor a 
" whim " possessing any human eccentricity. 

By carefully looking over this compendium of mining terms the reader 
will be able to read and talk more intelligently, and therefore more satis- 
factorily : 

Adit. — A level, a horizontal drift or passage from the surface into a mine. 
Alluvium. — A deposit of loose gravel between the superficial covering of 

vegetable mould and the subjacent rock. 
Apex. — The top or highest point of mineral. 
Argentiferous. — Containing silver. 



PROSPECTING. 169 

Assay.— To test ores by chemical or blowpipe examination. 
Auriferous.— Containing gold. 
Bed.— A horizontal seam or deposit of mineral. 
Blende.— An ore of zinc consisting of zinc and sulphur. 
Bonanza.— Fair weather; a mine is said to en bonanza when it is yield- 
ing a profit. 
Breast.— The face of a tunnel or drift. 
Cap.— A vein is in the " cap " when it is much contracted. 
Carbonates.— Soft carbonates: salts containing carbonic acid, with a base 

of lead. Hard. carbonates : the same with iron for a base. 
Cheek.— -The side or wall of a vein. 

Chimneys.— The richer spots in lodes as distinguished from poorer ones. 
Claim.— The space of ground located and worked under the laws. 
Chlorides.— A compound of chlorine and silver. 

Contact— A touching, meeting, or junction of two substances, as rocks. 
Contact-vein.— A vein along the contact-plane of, or between, two dis- 
similar rock-masses. 
Country.— The ground traversed by a vein. 
Country rock.— The rock-masses on each side of a vein. 
. Crevice.-A narrow opening, resulting from a split or crack ; a fissure 
Cribbing.— The timber or plank lining of a shaft; the confining of the 

wall-rock. 
Cropping out— The rising of layers of rock to the surface. 
Cross-cut— A level driven across the course of a vein. 
Cut— To intersect a vein; open cut, a level without a covering driven 

across the course of a vein. 
Bike —A wall-like mass of mineral matter filling fissures. 
Diluvium.— A deposit of superficial sand, loam, pebbles, gravel, etc. 
Dip.— The slope, pitch, or angle which a vein makes with the plane ot 

the horizon. 
Drift— A horizontal passage underground. 
Dump.— A place for deposit of tailings or waste rock. 
^ ace _The end of a drift or tunnel. 

Fault— A displacement of strata or veins, so that they are not continuous. 
Feeder.— A small vein joining a larger one. _ 

Fissure-vein.-A fissure or crack in the earth's crust filled with mineral 

matter. 
Float— Loose rock or isolated masses of ore, or ore detached from the 

original formation. 
Foot-wall.— The layer of rock immediately under the vein. 



170 THE GREAT WEST. 

Gangue. — The substance enclosing and accompanying the ore in a vein. 
Gash-vein. — A vein wide above and narrow below. 

Hanging-wall. — The layer of rock or wall over a lode. 

Heading. — The vein above the drift. ' 

Horse. — A mass of rock-matter occurring in or between the branches of 
a vein. 

Incline drift. — An inclined passage underground. 

In place. — A vein or lode enclosed on both sides by fixed and immovable 
rock. 

Lagging. — The timber over and upon the sides of a drift. 

Level. — A horizontal passage or drift into a mine from a shaft. 

Lode. — Aggregations of mineral matter containing ores in fissures. 

Matrix. — The rock or earthy matter containing a mineral or metallic ore. 

Mill-run. — A test of a quantity of ore after reduction. 

Outcrop. — That portion of a vein appearing at the surface. 

Patch. — A small placer-claim. 

Placer. — A gravelly place where gold is found — includes all forms of 
mineral deposits excepting veins in place. (Sec. 2329 Rev. Stat. 
U. S.) 

Pocket. — A rich spot in a vein or deposit. 

Prospecting. — Searching for new deposits ; also preliminary explorations 
to test the value of lodes or placers. 

Riffle-blocks. — Wooden blocks set on end in a sluice, with interstices for 
catching gold. 

Selvage. — Thin band of earthy matter between the vein and walls. 

Shaft. — A well-like excavation in the earth. 

Shift. — The time for a miner's work, in one day or night. 

Sluices. — Boxes joined together, set with riffle-blocks, through which is 
washed auriferous earth. 

Smelting. — Reducing the ores in furnaces to metals. 

Stamps. — Machines for crushing ores. 

Slope. — One of a series of steps into which the upper surface of an ex- 
cavation is cut ; to excavate in the form of steps above a drift. 

Sloping. — The act of stoping or breaking down the surface of an excava- 
tion with a pick. 

Strike. — The extension of a lode in a horizontal direction. 

Stulls. — A framework covered with timber or planks to support rubbish 
in working a stope. 

Sump. — That part of the shaft below the platform used for receiving 
water. 



PROSPECTING. 171 

Tailings. — The refuse matter discharged from the end of a sluice. 
Tunnel.— A level driven at right angles to the vein, which its object is to 

reach. 
Vein. — Aggregations of mineral matter in fissures of rocks. 
Walls. — The sides next to the lode. 
Whim. — A machine for raising ores and refuse. 
Winze. — A shaft sunk from one level to another. 




NEBRASKA AND ITS RESOURCES 



INTRODUCTORY. 



IN" folk-lore there is this story : There was a man tired of the patient 
cultivation of his little farm, and who desired to be rich without 
labor. Lacking wealth, life had become " stale, flat, and unprofitable." 
Three times he dreamed there was treasure hid under the earth in his old 
orchard, which for years had been barren of fruit. Three is the regula- 
tion number that makes a dream true ; and so, in an ecstasy of excitement, 
he revealed the secret to his wife, and began to dig. Round one tree he 
dug a mound of earth, and round another, until there was not a gnarled 
trunk about whose roots he had not let in the vitalizing air. But there 
was no treasure. Of course he grew angry over his wasted labor, and he 
had a sorry time when his neighbors hung on his fence and laughed at 
his folly. Spring-time, however, came, and the trees blossomed. Autumn 
followed, and they were loaded with fruit. Years went on, the old orchard 
yielding a rich revenue ; and so the man found there was golden treasure 
hid in the earth after all, and he grumbled no more because his farm was 
not a literal gold-mine, but worked it with vim, and his land made him 
as wealthy as a man has need to be. Our fathers, who composed this 
parable, knew what they were talking about quite as well as the old 
Greeks when they made the myth about exhausted Hercules renewing 
his strength at the touch of the Earth-mother. Gold is good, but it 
usually costs the miner as much to win it as it is worth. The produc- 
tions of the soil are better in the long run, for it is on these that all life 
must base. In her agricultural productions Nebraska is rich, and will be 
richer. She boasts soil that is nowhere excelled, a climate favorable to 
production, and pure water in abundance. 



NEBRASKA AND ITS RESOURCES. 173 



GEOGRAPHY OF NEBRASKA. 

The area of the State comprises 75,995 square miles, or 46,636,800 
acres— roughly speaking, as large as all the New England States, or all 
Pennsylvania and half of New York. Its length is 412 miles and its 
width about 200. It is between the parallels -of 40° and 43° north, thus 
placing the whole State in the latitude of Pennsylvania, Southern New 
York, Northern California, and Southern Oregon ; and between 18° and 
27° west from Washington or 95° and 104° west of Greenwich. The 
State is called prairie. So it is, in the sense of the word which means 
meadow, but not in that secondary sense which implies a land of uniform 
flatness. In real truth, Nebraska is a part of the lowest eastern grass- 
clothed slope of the Kocky Mountains. The eye alone will make no 
observer aware of this fact. Nevertheless, from the eastern to the west- 
ern boundary of Nebraska there is a gradual and uninterrupted rise of 
the land of about seven feet to the mile in Eastern Nebraska, and from 
that to ten feet in Western ; and thus it comes that while the land on the 
eastern boundary is 910 feet above sea-level, on the western boundary it 
is about 5000. The surface-form of the State is, of course, made by the 
rivers. The eastern front of the country shows bold, wooded bluifs to 
the Missouri, their outlines being cut and scarped into fantastic and 
picturesque forms by the washing water. West of the Missouri bluffs, 
except on the table-lands, there is no flat, but a land of many changing 
forms— now broad bottoms bounded by low hills, now picturesque bluffs, 
and, especially in the grazing-region, ravines sometimes as rugged as the 
gulches in the gold-fields. Now and again a river flows full to the bank, 
from which the bottom — from a mile to four or more miles wide — spreads 
out on either hand ; but generally the streams run in deep beds, the high, 
steep banks and the narrow first bench being thickly clothed with timber. 
The general ascending lay of the land is broken west to east by three 
■main drainage-channels. On the northern boundary of the State are the 
Niobrara and the Missouri Rivers, of which latter the Niobrara is an 
affluent. The Platte, a winding, shallow, spreading stream, dotted with 
numerous islands and running over a bed of white sand, flows through 
the whole length of the State from west to east at a distance of one hun- 
dred to one hundred and twenty miles south of the Niobrara ; and from 
' fifty to eighty miles south of the Platte the Republican River has its 
channel. These rivers head in or near the mountains. Their flow is 
west to east, and their drainage-area on the south is limited to a belt of 
ten to fifteen miles, and the tributary streams from that side are few. 



174 THE GREAT WEST. 

North of each stream, however, its affluents are numerous, and the general 
flow of their waters is south-east. This is the topography of Nebraska 
in barest outline, and with the map before him the reader can fill in the 
details. He can imagine the great plain ascending to higher altitudes as 
the mountains are approached ; the rivers, west to east, making three 
great valleys, and two elevated divides separating the valleys; and, 
finally, the smaller streams exhibiting the land as broken into an 
almost infinite number of gently-undulating hills and valleys, with 
great table-lands on the summits, the trend of which is south-east. 

GEOLOGY OF NEBRASKA. 

In the south-eastern part of the State, Upper Carboniferous and Per- 
mian deposits come to the surface, the boundary-line running south-west 
from Washington county to about the centre of the southern line of 
Thayer county. Over one-third of the State west of this line Cretaceous 
deposits make the surface, and west again the Tertiary. The surface 
geology of Nebraska represents great periods in the history of the for- 
mation of the crust of the globe — glacial epochs and ages of time when 
seas and lakes covered the land, now the centre of the United States. It 
is for a scientific treatise to describe in detail the accumulated changes of 
these eras — the grinding of the mills of the gods which produced life 
and swept away life, ultimately resulting in the fertile Nebraska which is 
to-day. It is a marvellous story whose record is everywhere written in 
Nebraska, but in this article there is not space for its telling. The final 
formative processes are, however, interesting to the farmer, inasmuch as 
they describe the land he has to till. Toward the close of the last Gla- 
cial Period the continent slowly uprose, and a portion of this region 
became dry land. Yet great fresh-water lakes remained, one in Nebras- 
ka and Iowa being estimated as five hundred miles long and from fifty 
to two hundred miles wide. There was the Missouri River, then and 
now the muddiest river in the world. For a thousand miles its course 
was, and is, through deposits readily friable and easily worn and borne 
away by the water, especially as at this time, at the sources of the Mis- 
souri and Yellowstone, the water-action was aided by the erosive action of 
moving ice-masses. When the river entered the great lake its current 
ceased, and the suspended sediment dropped to the bottom. The land 
was now being gradually upheaved. As it rose the waters of the loess 
lake were drained oif by the Missouri, and its bed became a vast marsh. 
The present broad bottoms of the country were at that time river-beds, 
and with their waters still came down the muddv debris from the moun- 



NEBRASKA AND ITS RESOURCES. 175 

tains, which was largely deposited at the bottoms of the great streams. 
The land was still rising, and as it rose the rivers drained off the surplus 
waters. The river-beds were cut deeper into the yielding soil, and the 
time ultimately came when Nebraska was fixed in the condition which 
exists at this day — the loess being largely the soil of the uplands, and 
the alluvial that of the river-valleys. The two deposits are similar in 
chemical elements, and they form the richest soil in the world, and most 
valuable for agricultural purposes, ranging in thickness from five to one 
hundred and fifty, and even two hundred, feet. Careful analyses of the 
soil show that in the loess over eighty per cent, of the formation is finely- 
comminuted silica — so fine that its true character can only be detected 
under a microscope. About ten per cent, of its substance is made up of 
carbonates and phosphates of lime. There are some small amounts of 
alkaline matter, iron, and alumina, the result being a soil that can never 
be exhausted until every hill and valley which composes it is entirely 
worn away. Its finely-comminuted silica gives it natural drainage in the 
highest degree. When torrents of rain come the water soon percolates 
the soil, which, in its lowest depths, retains it like a huge sponge. When 
droughty periods intervene the moisture rises from below by capillary 
attraction, supplying nearly all the needs of vegetation in the dryest sea- 
sons. The richer surface-soil overlies the subsoil, and it is from eighteen 
inches to three and four, and even six, feet thick. It is organically the 
same as the subsoil, but enriched with organic matter, the growth and 
decay of innumerable centuries — a garden soil easily cultivated and mak- 
ing the arable farm as a garden. 

CLIMATIC CONDITIONS IN NEBRASKA. 

In the first place, there is water in abundance underground, on the sur- 
face, and coming from the clouds. At a depth of twenty to sixty feet, 
and at some places sixty to one hundred, there is a thick layer of clear 
sand, which in most cases rests upon a bed of rock or clay ; and so abun- 
dant is the water in this sand that in many places subterranean streams 
are formed, which are struck in sinking shafts. Everywhere abundant 
water, above the average in purity, is obtained at the depths named, the 
cost of a common tube-well being about seventy-five cents per foot. On 
the surface rivers, creeks, prairie-ponds, and springs abound. No map 
yet published does justice to the numberless small streams that exist in 
the State, even the plats of the public surveys failing to indicate them 
all ; and, indeed, there are large areas in which running water is now 
found on every section, where there was none when those surveys were 



176 



THE GREAT WEST. 



made. The rainfall is ample. The best data accessible are the tables 
kept by Dr. A. L. Child of Plattsmouth, from which the following is 
compiled : 



Year. Season. 


Temperature. 


Yearly Snow. 


Yearly Rain and Melted 
Snow. 


f Winter .... 

"«• &.::: 

[Fall 

C Winter .... 

Hi—'.:: 

[Fall 

f Winter .... 

1875 J Spring • • • • 

18/0 1 Summer .... 

[Fall 

r Winter .... 

H&.::: 

[Fall 


19.99° " 
47.03° 

72.78° ' 
49.75°, 

22.14°] 
46.17° [ 
70.00° ( 
42.64° J 

15.06° 1 
45.55° [ 
71.67° j 
47.31° J 


11.45 
inches. 

22.00 
inches. 

29.26 
inches. 


f 4.10 in. 
J 8.34 " 
1 11.95 " 
[ 7.11 " 

31.70 in. 
f 4.60 in. 
J 9.50 " 
1 9.10 " 
[ 8.90 " 

32.10 in. 
f 2.08 in. 
J 12.48 " 
1 28.70 " 
[ 6.96 " 


33.01° 
52.71° 

72.86° 
15.98° 


1 


50.22 in. 
f 3.57 in. 

J 12.64 " 
1 22.48 " 
[ 4.78 " 

43.47 in. 



The average rainfall for these five years is 32.29, as compared with 34.13, 
the average of eleven years in Illinois. From the middle of the State, 
west, the rainfall is somewhat less than the table indicates, but in the 
eastern half the average is 32, two-thirds of which is during the agricul- 
tural months, or quite as much rain at the precise time when it is needed 
as falls during the same months in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and 
New York. A peculiarity of the rainfall is that it is mostly at nights, so 
that the heaviest showers, quickly draining into the land, scarcely inter- 
fere with work on the farm. The temperature is of the temperate zone, 
healthful and bracing to man and beast, and in which corn, small grains, 
apples, and peaches come to rich perfection. 



NATURAL PRODUCTIONS. 

The prairie, clothed only by natural processes, presents its own testi- 
mony to the riches of the State. Its whole expanse is covered with 
grasses, there being not fewer than one hundred and fifty species, and the 
most abundant making the best pasture, showing green at the end of 
April and affording feed until November. The blue-joint grows every- 
where except on low bottoms. Under ordinary conditions its growth is 



NEBRASKA AND ITS RESOURCES. 177 

two and a half to four feet, and on cultivated grounds it is found from 
seven to ten feet high. Wild oats grow on the uplands, mixed with blue- 
joint. This grass is relished by cattle, and is abundant. The buffalo- 
grass, low in habit, is now found in the western half of the State. It 
disappears before cultivation, but it is Nature's provision of food for 
grain-eating animals during Avinter on the prairie, inasmuch as it retains 
its nutriment all the year round. Among other feed-grasses are several 
varieties of bunch-grass, and in the low lands a native blue-grass and the 
spangle-top, which latter makes excellent hay. 

THE NATIVE TREES. 

The Nebraska prairie is not bare of trees ; in fact, the native trees fur- 
nish a large list. The river-bluffs are clothed with them, and the banks 
of the streams. There are two kinds of buckeye, two of maple, two of 
locust, four of ash, three of hickory, eleven of oak, twelve of willow 
(eight species being shrubs), three of poplar, one sycamore, black walnut, 
yellow pine, white cedar, and red cedar. The shrubs include common ju- 
niper, pawpaw, prickly-ash, five sumacs, red-root, spindle tree, six species 
of plum, six of currants and gooseberries, five dogwoods, butter-bush, buf- 
falo-berry, red and white mulberry, hazelnut, and beaked hazelnut. Cedars 
are found on the islands of the Platte, and along the Loups and the Nio- 
brara there is a goodly quantity of pine. But the point is here : this list 
of trees is proof that trees flourish on the prairie, and that as much tim- 
ber as is needed for all uses can be raised on the farm. 

The prairie, in its natural condition, presents the aspect the preceding 
pages sketch — an untilled garden-land, furnishing plenty for its wild den- 
izens, for man and beast. Looking at it in this year (1879), it is a mar- 
vel how Fremont and others could have come to regard it as a desert. 
Nevertheless, they did so regard it; and the nation up to the year 1850 
little knew of the rich domain it possessed in the trans-Missouri region 
—a region which is to be the great grain- and stock-producing area of 
the continent. 

THE HISTORY OF NEBRASKA. 

The white man knew Nebraska more than twenty-five years ago. Ad- 
venturous French trappers explored its wastes and fraternized with the 
Indians, and the conditions remained the same when Astor's American 
Fur Company collected the furs of the region. This company established 
trading-posts, the first of all being at Belle Vue (between Omaha and the 



178 THE GREAT WEST. 

Platte River), which was under the charge of Colonel Sarpy, a member 
of a French family well known on the frontier, and himself noted for 
his enterprise, sagacity, and courage. It matters little to speak of these 
times, except that when men see a great river it is natural to desire to 
know its birthplace in the mountains, and it was in these beginnings that 
Nebraska had its origin. Across its prairies was the way to the west 
coast and to Utah. Many an "Argonaut " — as the " Forty-niners " are 
called — never saw the sea until he reached the Golden Gate by way of the 
prairie, and the Mormon roads are still traceable across the Plains. It 
was the establishment of frontier forts that was the next stage in Nebras- 
ka's progress. The people there had to be fed and clothed, and the freight- 
ing system came into being. To meet the needs of this overland trade, 
there had to be ranches on the way where supplies could be obtained ; 
and hence at convenient places they were established. By one means or 
other the land was known to the outside world about 1850, and there was 
a crowd waiting on the Iowa and Missouri side of the Missouri to "jump" 
the river as soon as the Territorial act authorizing settlement was passed 
and proclaimed in 1854. But from Cedar county in the north to Rich- 
ardson county in the south there was no belief anywhere that any land 
except the Missouri bottoms was worth occupying ; and a decade went 
by and there were but few farms opened ten miles west of the river, the 
balance of the State being really the hunting-grounds of the Indians. In 
1864, however, the Union Pacific Railroad was commenced from Omaha, 
and in 1869 the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad from Platts- 
mouth ; and since then these railroads have been the largest factors in 
promoting Nebraska's prosperity. In 1867 the State was admitted to 
the Union, and at that time Lincoln, on the prairie, was located as the 
capital, and is now, besides being the seat of government , the second 
city in the State, with a population of ten thousand, while Omaha's pop- 
ulation numbers twenty-five thousand. 

This is a brief statement of the dates which go to make up the 
•items in the short history of Nebraska. To fill up the outline sketched 
would require a book. In brief, the State has become a white man's 
country. The Indians have yielded possession, the Pawnees quitting their 
reservation, which has become Nance county, and the Otoe Reservation 
also is being settled up everywhere. In the agricultural part of the State 
the traveller meets with splendid farms, and, in the grazing-region west, 
enormous herds of cattle. The reasons for the prosperity of the State 
will be of interest to those who are contemplating moving West, and the 
principal of these may be briefly stated. 



NEBRASKA AND ITS RESOURCES. 



179 



THE GREAT FOOD-BELT OF THE CONTINENT. 

Men cannot make bread of sand, and so they do not settle in deserts. 
The United States cover twenty-three degrees of latitude — away to the 
frozen North and down to the semi-tropic South. But, with all this 
choice, from the beginning of Western settlement the great current of 
movement has been within a central belt five or six degrees in width, 
and " nearly corresponding with the latitudinal length of the State of 
Illinois, which lies between 36° 56' and 42° 30'." The proof of this is 
furnished by the census of 1870, which shows — 





Population. 


True 
Valuation. 


Wheat, in 
Bushels. 


Corn, in 
Bushels. 


Immigrants 

born out of 

U.S. 


11 States and 3 Terrs, in 

latitude of Illinois 

10 States, larger half in lat- 


14,019,314 
13,211,389 
11,327,668 


$12,729,954,998 
13,105,750,967 
4,140,075,345 


117,870,054 
104,378,646 
55,496,926 


334,137,865 
240,623,912 

186,182,772 


2,144,000 

2,524,538 

898,008 


Country wholly out of lat- 





The foregoing table demonstrates a truth most important to be remem- 
bered by those who are contemplating a change of base. This is the belt 
in the United States in which industry obtains the most certain and high- 
est rewards. It is temperate in climate, and a man can here work up to 
his best. The land is fruitful, and bears in greatest abundance those 
products which are necessaries of life, and which have value accordingly. 
" South of Illinois," writes Dr. Butler, " it is* too hot for wheat ; north 
of it is too cold for corn. Accordingly, in the latitude of Illinois — that 
is, within three degrees north and south of the parallel of 40° — Amer- 
ican agriculture can be more diversified than anywhere else. Farmers 
there are not dependent upon any single staple, but raise crops so various 
that a season which is pernicious to one is profitable to some other. Theirs 
is the threefold cord which is not quickly broken. 



NEBRASKA THE BEST PART OF THE BELT. 

The marvel of Nebraska is, that the progress of Illinois is here ex- 
celled. Consider the following figures: At the beginning of 1856 the 
population of Nebraska was 10,716, and at the close of 1875, 259,912, 
which was a twenty-five-fold increase in twenty years. In 1810, Illinois 
had a population of 12,282, and in 1830, 157,445, a thirteen-fold in- 
crease. These figures exhibit the two States in the first period of growth. 
Starting with about the same population, Nebraska doubles upon won- 
derful Illinois in the course of twenty years. The reason is, that in 



180 THE GREAT WEST. 

Nebraska the farmer has Nature fully on his side — a fact further mani- 
fested when the productions of the State are considered. Corn, the king 
of grains, is bountiful in production, and it is not unusual for seventy 
pounds of ear to shell sixty to sixty-three pounds, or four to seven pounds 
over the standard, the general average of production, with fair cultivation, 
being fifty to sixty bushels per acre. Numerous varieties of wheat are 
grown, the yield being fifteen to twenty-five bushels per acre ; of barley 
a fair yield is thirty to forty bushels ; of rye, twenty-five to thirty bushels ; 
and of oats, forty to fifty bushels. Flax returns about twelve bushels 
per acre, and tame grasses — alfalfa, or California clover, ordinary red and 
white clover, Hungarian grass, timothy, millet, blue-grass, and orchard- 
grass — take well to the soil and climate and cut heavy crops of hay. The 
country which is good for corn, good for small grains, good for grass and 
hay, and has a favorable climate, must be the location for stock-raising. 
It is live-stock the civilized world most wants, and in live-stock the 
farmer finds wealth. If a settler opens a farm in the agricultural part 
of the State, mixed farming is the best, and he should therefore combine 
grain- and stock-growing. If a man goes forth to the great pastoral region, 
then of course the industry he will follow will be that of herdsman or 
flock -master ; but be he where he will in Nebraska, cattle, horses, sheep, and 
hogs are what he needs to have about him. There is in Nebraska a wide 
field for profitable horse-raising, and except the few colts which farmers 
raise the field is unoccupied, and large numbers of horses are annually 
imported into the State, which could all be raised here at much less cost 
than in the States whence they are imported and sold in Nebraska at 
from eighty to one hundred and twenty dollars each. The farmer who 
wants to engage in horse-breeding should come to Nebraska. He will 
find the broken prairie — land which, because it is not the best land laid 
out for the plough, sells at from three to four dollars per acre — the best 
adapted for the purpose. In these lands draws frequently come in from 
all sides toward a bottom, and wind-shelters are afforded from whatever 
direction the wind may blow, and water also is ever abundant. In a 
location of this character a man may establish himself, put up necessary 
shelters for his stock at a cheap rate, breed horses or mules, and find a 
ready market in the State and outside of it, for the freight is an exceed- 
ingly small percentage on the value of a good horse, and the best horses 
can be raised in Nebraska at a much less cost than in Kentucky. For 
feed, horses have the native prairie grasses, which are most excellent for 
both pasturage and hay, and corn, oats, rye, and barley are grown in 
great abundance and of most excellent quality. 



NEBRASKA AND ITS RESOURCES. 181 



THE CATTLE-FARM. 

Cattle should be upon every farm — as many as the land will carry or 
the owner's means afford. Away from the great ranges it is best to have 
fairly good stock, which it should be the farmer's aim constantly to im- 
prove. It will be long years before there are too many beef-cattle in the 
world, and the market for them is as wide as civilization. Let the reader 
consider the price of beef in the Eastern markets and in England, and 
contrast that with the price at which cattle can be raised on the Nebraska 
prairie. In three years, with good stock, the Nebraska farmer can have 
a steer to weigh fifteen hundred pounds, and he is amply paid selling at 
three and a half cents per pound. Under conditions like these there is 
the possibility of an immense trade with the East and with England, 
though at present Chicago can absorb all of Nebraska's surplus. Im- 
provements in cattle-cars and in shipping arrangements, however, will 
extend Nebraska's sales to the most distant markets, landing stock in 
good condition in London and Liverpool at most for four cents per pound. 
As an example of possibilities in prepared meats, an English farmer in 
Seward county two years ago sent a small parcel of hams and bacon, 
cured in the English fashion, to the Manchester (England) market. The 
freight on his small shipment amounted to three cents per pound, and his 
returns were twenty-five cents per pound, and he was informed that any 
quantity would be received at that price. The dairy produce of Ne- 
braska may be indefinitely increased. Already a considerable quantity 
of Nebraska cheese is shipped out of the State east and west, at one 
cheese-factory in Lancaster county the product averaging four hundred 
pounds of cheese per head of cattle, and selling at ten cents per pound. 
In butter-making, dairymen among the hills, where the milk can be kept 
in a spring-house, are supposed to have had an advantage not obtainable 
on the prairie. Now, however, " Cooley's Creamer " puts the prairie- 
dairyman on the same plane as those who live in mountain-regions. The 
windmill pump, which costs from one hundred and twenty to one hun- 
dred and sixty dollars, keeps up a constant flow of coolest water from the 
recesses of the earth. The cooler is a large box, zinc-lined, with (between 
the zinc and the outer wood) a filling of charcoal. Placed beside the 
pump, the stream from the pump fills the box, and the overflow is carried 
off through a waste pipe, so that it can be used for watering stock. This 
" spring-house " for the prairie is a simple apparatus, and not costly. But 
further : all who are acquainted with cattle know that under favorable 
conditions — and more favorable cannot be found than those of Nebraska 



182 THE GREAT WEST. 

— their increase is marvellous, calculation showing that thirty cows, that 
would cost, say, twelve hundred dollars, in ten years will develop into a 
herd worth thirty thousand dollars, allowing ten per cent, for losses and 
the butter and cheese for the cost of maintenance. This is cattle-farming, 
of course, in the agricultural region. In the great pastures west the busi- 
ness is simpler. There, as yet, dairy products count for nothing, and it 
is the increase in the herds — cheaply fed and cheaply cared for — which 
yields the profit. With the cattle raised in this western half of the State 
there are good opportunities of profitable trade. Small herds can be 
selected, brought into the eastern parts, pastured on the way, and wintered 
on cheap corn and hay ; and then they are in splendid condition for the 
meat-market in the spring. In the farming-region hogs go with cattle ; 
and Nebraska farmers, with their Chester whites, Polands, and Berk- 
shires, have as good stock as can be found in any State. Thousands of 
men find cattle-raising profitable in Nebraska, and thousands of others 
may engage in the business with equal success. In the west especially 
the business is an immense one, but statistics are not readily accessible. 

EXPERIENCE OF FLOCK-MASTERS. 

Those who devote themselves to sheep speak highly of the results ob- 
tained. The sheep in its origin is native to the mountains. It likes the 
dry, pure air of the uplands and avoids marshes. The lay of the land 
in Nebraska is therefore peculiarly adapted to sheep. On the breezy 
uplands, richly clothed with grasses, and in the pure, dry air, they are 
healthy and vigorous; the experience of Nebraska flock-masters, says 
the Hon. J. D. Jenkins of Fairmont in Fillmore county, who has had 
large experience, being that, with good management, sheep return a profit 
of fifty per cent, upon the investment. The pioneer flock-master of 
Eastern Nebraska is the Hon. Moses Stocking of Saunders county ; and 
one yearly return he made exhibited on a flock of sixteen hundred and 
fifty-two merinos — which breed he prefers, though long-wool breeds are 
now coming to have partisans — a profit of $3495. In Jefferson county, 
Messrs. C. and P. Jansen — leaders in the Mennonite settlement there — 
commenced sheep-farming in 1875, purchasing in Iowa and Wisconsin a 
flock of fifteen hundred fair merino sheep, and in New York twenty to 
thirty thoroughbred merino rams. Since that time they have introduced 
new blood into the herd by importing additional thoroughbred rams, and 
have otherwise improved the flock by selling off all inferior animals and 
keeping only the best, so that now they have a flock of 2300 high-class 
merinos. As an indication of the manner in which sheep improve in 



NEBRASKA AND ITS RESOURCES. 183 

Nebraska, they furnish the following figures as the yield of wool per head 
of the sheep during the several years : In 1876 the clip averaged 7£ 
pounds per head; in 1877, 8^ pounds; in 1878, 9 pounds; and 1879 the 
enormous figure was reached of 11 pounds and a fraction per head, from 
which they realized $5060. All through the State from south to north, 
and away west to the Republican Valley and the forks of the Loup, ex- 
amples of successful sheep-farming are found, and information regarding 
them may be obtained by inquirers. It is not too much to say that the 
fifty million pounds of foreign wool now imported into the United States 
could all be raised on these prairies. 

SUCCESSFUL FRUIT-CULTURE. 

"When the first settlers crossed the Missouri they would not believe that 
fruit would grow in Nebraska, and some years elapsed before even ex- 
periments were made. They gathered prolific crops of wild plums, grapes, 
and gooseberries, but they were slow to learn the lesson of Nature, that 
where the plum-thicket was prolific of fruit the apple-orchard would also 
grow. There were among the settlers, however, men of culture, intelli- 
gence, and enterprise, who knew how to reason and how to act. These 
were the pioneer orchardists of the river-counties. They planted, and 
their planting failed ; but they persevered, and the result is a brilliant 
success. Orchards and vineyards crown the slopes of the hills, and Ne- 
braska apples and Nebraska peaches vie with the best produced elsewhere. 
The success is undoubted, and the reason for the success is the co-adapta- 
bility of soil and climate — the peculiar deposits (before described), says 
Professor Aughey, making the State "a paradise for fruit-culture, espe- 
cially for the apple, plum, grape, and all the small fruits of the temperate 
zones." 

PISCICULTURE. 

One acre of water stocked with suitable fish is more profitable than the 
best ten acres of land on which the sun shines. The native fish of Ne- 
braska are not of high quality, and there are room and verge enough in the 
home market for extensive piscicultural operations. There are clear rivers 
and creeks — in some parts small lakes, and everywhere ponds — in which 
certain species of useful fresh-water fish can be made for ever abundant. 
To show how fish will increase even when left only to their natural 
fecundity, instance a consignment of perch, bass, and pickerel which a 
few years ago were being sent over the Union Pacific Railroad to Califor- 
nia. By an accident the car was overturned into the Elkhorn River. 



184 THE GREAT WEST. 

The fry got into the stream, and there they have multiplied amazingly 
(notwithstanding illegal netting), and spread into tributary streams and 
ponds. At a late meeting of the Legislature a fish commission was ap- 
pointed to assist individuals in fish-culture and to protect their interests. 
Already many persons have established hatcheries. 

THE HONEY-BEE AND THE PRAIRIE FLOWERS. 

A gentleman who has travelled extensively in the Old World and the 
New World tasted honey in Nebraska, the product of the prairie flowers, 
and he said, " This is as the honey of Hybla, the celebrated honey of the 
Mediterranean countries, with the same aromatic flavor." The honey of 
the prairie flowers is peculiarly rich, and bees work on the prairie and in 
the timber-belts on the streams to great profit. To attend to bees — except 
when the apiary is on a large scale, as it is now and again in Eastern Ne- 
braska north and south of the Platte — is an avocation for the women of 
the household — one in which they take delight, and one which not only 
puts money in the purse, but adds to the luxuries of the home. The bees 
begin to work on the wild flowers among the timber at the opening of 
spring, but the true honey season of Nebraska is July, August, and Sep- 
tember, when the flowers of the prairie — milkweed, heart's-ease, golden-rod, 
sunflower, and many others — are in their fullest bloom, though by planting 
rape and other early-blooming honey-flowers May and June are brought 
into the honey period. In the river-counties of Nebraska large numbers 
of bees are kept, and in the neighborhood of Omaha alone there are two 
thousand swarms. 

THREE DISTRICTS IN NEBRASKA. 

The foregoing narrative describes Nebraska in general terms, and if 
the reader will study the following figures he will see the progress and 
prospects of the State further exemplified, but in a different way. A 
natural division of the State is into three great sections — North-eastern 
Nebraska, South-eastern Nebraska, and the grazing-region west. Speak- 
ing broadly of these several areas, it may be said that the western grazing 
country is somewhat less than half of the area of the State, North-eastern 
Nebraska being a little larger than South-eastern, though the present 
western limit of lands in cultivation is not so far west in the north as in 
the south. In the south the agricultural area extends almost to the 
western boundary of the State ; and, indeed, in what is now the graz- 
ing-region the processes which have made the eastern half arable are 
in rapid progress. 



NEBRASKA AND ITS RESOURCES. 185 

NORTH-EASTERN NEBRASKA. 

Here there are twenty-eight counties, which in 1860 had a population 
of 10,500; in 1870, 51,088; and in 1879, 108,264. And wealth has 
increased with the increasing population. Twenty-five years ago settle- 
ment began on the Missouri bottoms. On the whole wide prairie there 
was nothing which civilized man counts as wealth ; and yet now the 
property is assessed at — and assessed values are but as one in three of 
real values — $30,441,370, Omaha, with its population of twenty-five 
thousand, contributing several millions. In 1870 the land in cultiva- 
tion in the whole State was 647,031 acres, but in 1880 in this quarter 
of the State the figures are 1,168,846 acres. The live-stock now owned 
by the people numbers 48,963 horses, 4200 mules, 141,281 cattle, 46,769 
sheep, and 134,988 swine ; and the wheat and corn product for the year 
1879 (estimating for certain counties which have not made returns on the 
basis of the 1878 returns) is 5,804,749 bushels of wheat and 16,297,598 
bushels of corn. Of cultivated timber there are 26,744 acres; apple 
trees, 306,143 ; pears, 5582 ; peach trees, 39,584 ; plum trees, 48,564 ; 
cherry trees, 31,734; grapevines, 49,444 ; and 1104 miles of live hedge. 

SOUTH-EASTERN NEBRASKA, 

with twenty-seven counties, has a still more favorable record. The popu- 
lation of this section in 1860 was 16,539 ; in 1870, 71,731 ; and in 1879, 
201,976 ; and in 1880 the assessed valuation of the property in this 
section is $40,483,979. The land in cultivation is 1,994,458 acres ; the 
horses number 100,574; the mules, 10,367; the cattle, 199,146; sheep, 
70,285 ; swine, 523,683 ; while the wheat product (estimating as before 
for certain counties that have not made returns) is 8,722,105 bushels, and 
corn 20,698,982 bushels. The acreage in cultivated timber is 62,769, and 
of fruit there are 967,457 apple trees, 30,445 pear trees, 1,209,957 peach 
trees, 96,738 plum trees, and 185,485 cherry trees, 158,367 grapevines, 
and 5497 miles of live hedge. 

From the grazing-region west the statistics are not sufficiently complete 
to warrant their setting forth, though here reside the balance of the pop- 
ulation (the census of the State for 1879 gives the total population as 
386,410, against 122,993 in 1870, or an increase during the nine years of 
201 per cent., which is something unprecedented in the history of agri- 
cultural settlement, and most convincing testimony to the excellence of 
the land), the chief industry being the raising of beef-cattle in immense 
herds, though in the valleys there is considerable farming, and as settle- 



186 THE GREAT WEST. 

merit proceeds and pioneers push westward the whole State will be de- 
voted to farming. 

The figures which are given must show those who want homes in the 
West that they cannot settle in a better State than Nebraska. There is 
enough and to spare for all the people, and an accumulation of wealth 
marvellous in so young a State. Those who have money to invest largely 
in stock may go to the grazing plains ; those whose means are more 
moderate should take a farm ; while those who propose to engage in trade 
and manufactures will find openings in one or other of the towns. Ne- 
braska is, and will always be, to a great extent, an agricultural country, 
deriving its wealth from the soil. But there is money invested in manu- 
factures of various kinds, and there is room for more, especially in the 
manufactures which are connected with agriculture, as wagon- and car- 
riage-making, agricultural implements, starch, pork-packing, and dairy 
products. A large field is indeed open, which only needs capital and in- 
telligence and skill to develop. 

THE CENTRE OF THE RAILROADS OF THE COUNTRY. 

The railroad system of Nebraska permeates the State and strikes out 
over the continent, east, west, north, and south, to the seaboard. Wher- 
ever there is a market for the surplus products of the State, there are 
railroads to that market. No State at Nebraska's stage of growth has 
ever before had such railroad facilities for the development of State com- 
merce and foreign trade, through the Pacific roads west and through the 
gate-cities of Omaha, Plattsmouth, and Nebraska City east and south- 
east. Nor is this all. A new era of railroad-building seems to have 
come to the State, and more railroads will still be built, until there shall 
not be a corner of it which shall not be penetrated by the iron way, the 
modern highway of nations, and bring all the people, as will be seen 
is largely the case at present, into direct communication with Lincoln, 
the State capital. 

SCHOOL SYSTEM OF THE STATE. 

Nebraska provides liberally for the education of the young. In the 
first place, there is the common-school system, which penetrates every- 
where. There is a normal school for the training of teachers at Peru, in 
Nemaha county ; and at the head of the State system is the University at 
Lincoln, where the higher education, after the payment of matriculation- 
fees, is free to students. The educational endowments, as shown by the 
statistics presented to the Legislature in January, 1879, comprise common- 



NEBRASKA AND ITS RESOURCES. 



187 



school land, 2,443,148 acres; agricultural-college land, 89,452 acres; 
university land, 45,119 acres; normal-school land, 12,800 acres; and the 
school fund in money, $2,120,182 ; the revenue applied to common school 
purposes for the year 1878 amounting to $629,068. The common schools 
grow with the State, as the following table will show : 



GROWTH OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. 



Tears. 


Av. No. 
days of 
School. 


Districts. 


Children. 


Teachers. 


Value of 
School Property. 


1870 

1872 
1874 
1876 
1878 


46 
79 
88 
90 
92 


797 
1410 
2215 
2513 
2690 


32,789 
51,123 
72,991 
86,191 
104,030 


536 
1512 
2735 
3366 
3730 


$178,604 
817,163 
1,553,926 
1,585,736 
1,806,466 



Besides the public provision, the Episcopalians have a college for girls, 
Brownell Hall at Omaha ; and for boys, Bishop Talbot College at Ne- 
braska City. The Catholics have a noble college at Omaha; the Con- 
gregationalists, one at Crete, in Saline county ; and the M. E. Church is 
about to erect a college at York in York county. The State institution for 
the deaf and dumb is at Omaha, and for the blind at Nebraska City. The 
sum of the account is, that every child in Nebraska has within reach a 
sound education which shall fit him or her to perform the duties of life. 

STATE INSTITUTIONS. 

The capital is at Lincoln, and work is just now being commenced upon 
an addition to the present State-house, the Legislature at its latest session 
having voted $60,000 for the purpose. The University, a fine Italian 
building, is also in Lincoln, and the State Insane Asylum is about two 
miles away, located in a charming country ; the penitentiary, which is a 
castellated structure, is about one and a half miles from Lincoln ; the 
Blind Asylum is at Nebraska City, and a Deaf and Dumb Institute at 
Omaha; and a reform school is to be erected at Kearney. 



OPPORTUNITIES FOR ACQUIRING LAND. 

There are millions of acres of government land yet open to pre-emption, 
homestead, and timber-culture entries in Nebraska, but those who want 
these will have to go considerably west. All over the State the public- 
school lands are offered for sale and lease. The quantities are named in 



188 THE GREAT WEST. 

a preceding paragraph, and information with regard to them may be ob- 
tained by writing to F. M. Davis, State Commissioner of Public Lands 
and Buildings, at Lincoln, Nebraska. The minimum price at which these 
lands are sold is seven dollars per acre, on twenty years' time, at six per 
cent, interest, and leases are on appraised values. During the years 1877 
and 1878 the lands sold were 26,819 acres, and leased 100,918, and the 
sales and leases during this year are doubling upon these figures. 

UNION PACIFC RAILROAD LANDS. 

For detailed information about these lands written or personal appli- 
cation should be made to the Land Commissioner U. P. R. P., Omaha, 
Nebraska. This company owns three million acres of fertile lands in 
Central and Western Nebraska, which are sold for cash, or on a credit 
of ten years at six per cent, interest, with gradual payments of principal 
and interest. The prices range from two to ten dollars per acre, on ten 
years' credit, "according to quality, location, timber, and nearness to 
market;" and a deduction of ten per cent, from credit prices is made 
to cash purchasers. 

BURLINGTON AND MISSOURI RIVER RAILROAD LANDS. 

For detailed information about these lands address or apply to the Land 
Commissioner B. and M. R. R., Lincoln, Nebraska. This company has 
remaining of its land grant of more than two million acres about one 
million acres south of the Platte River, in the rich south-eastern section 
and in the north-eastern section north of the Platte. The north-eastern 
lands, of which there are about six hundred and fifty thousand acres, 
range from one to six dollars per acre, on ten years' time, with discount 
from these prices on six years' and two years' credit, and for cash. The 
balance of the B. and M. lands in South-eastern Nebraska are sold at 
from three to ten dollars on ten years' credit, with discounts off for 
cash or shorter time of credit. The reader will perceive that there are 
still opportunities to acquire homes and farms in Nebraska in United 
States government land, State land, and railroad land, free or on exceed- 
ingly low terms; but the progress made by the State, as its history 
demonstrates, is proof enough that only a short time will elaj)se before 
the era of cheap lands is closed for ever. 



NEBRASKA AND ITS RESOURCES. 189 

HEALTH. 

EXTRACTS FROM AN ARTICLE BY GEO. TILDEN, M. D., OF OMAHA. 



IN a new State the subject of malarial diseases is one of vital import- 
ance. Prominent among the causes and conditions of this class 
of affections may be mentioned a fertile soil, luxuriant vegetation, and 
poor drainage. Our soil is extremely rich and our vegetation most 
abundant, but the other condition, poor drainage, is not present 

The atmosphere is very pure and dry, and prevents the pernicious mias- 
matic effects which usually result from decaying animal and vegetable 
matter. Nebraska has less malarial disease than any Western or South- 
western State. Indeed, cases of this class are very rare, and when they 
do occur are mild in character and yield very readily to simple treat- 
ment. 

In regard to epidemics, I think I may very safely assert that there 
never has been in this State an epidemic of any kind ; even scarlet fever 
and measles have never appeared here epidemically. 

The vital statistics of the United States for the year 1870 set forth a 
fact of the highest importance to us relative to consumption. These statis- 
tics, together with our own, show with mathematical certainty that this is 
the most favorable State in the Union for the prevention, control, and 
treatment of this great scourge. Here, in proportion to the population, 
Consumption shows her smallest bills of mortality. But this authoritative 
statement will not surprise in the least those who have resided here for 
the last ten or fifteen years and given any attention to the subject. They 
have stoutly contended that this is the most favorable spot for those pre- 
disposed to this malady ; and time and observation and the faithful record 
of facts have more than confirmed their most sanguine expectations and 
assertions 

It matters not how warm and oppressive the day may be, the night is 
cool and delightful. Sleep, the great restorer of the mental and physical 
energies, is never disturbed by an oppressively warm atmosphere. In 
fine, the atmosphere of Nebraska is very pure, clear, dry, elastic, and 
bracing, and promotes in a high degree mental and physical activity and 
development. Take the seasons as they come and go, and average them, 
and no State can make such goodly promises as this for health, develop- 
ment, and longevity. 



NEW MEXICO. 

BY GEN. LEW WALLACE, GOVERNOR. 



THERE are three interests in New Mexico worthy consideration — the 
mineral, the grazing or pastoral, and the agricultural — and they may 
be said to constitute the resources of the Territory, as manufacturing is 
confined almost exclusively to jewelry, of which very exquisite work in 
filigree is produced in Santa Fe, mostly from gold and silver native to 
the Territory. 

AGRICULTURE. 

Agriculture in New Mexico is yet in its primitive condition. The 
wooden plough of the Mexican fathers holds preference with the majority 
of farmers. Development is barely sufficient to serve anticipation. Corn, 
wheat, oats, barley, and the table vegetables generally are raised with a 
view to the home market, which is quite limited. Corn is produced best 
in the valleys along the banks of streams. I have seen wheat- and oat- 
fields six and seven thousand feet above the sea-level as rich as any in 
Illinois and Minnesota. It is not possible to state even approximately 
the area of such productions. All irrigable lands, wherever they may 
be in the Territory, belong to the productive or farming class. The depth 
of the soil is something wonderful. With rains as in the Mississippi 
Valley, the results of intelligent labor would astonish the world ; as it 
is, no one thinks of land for cultivation except it be irrigable. In this 
sense water is king. 

THE EIO GRANDE VALLEY. 

The river Rio Grande gives name to the lowlands along its shores, 
which, running north and south nearly four hundred miles, have an 
average width of five miles. The soil is light, warm, sandy, and sur- 
passingly rich. Putting the soil, river, and climate together, the Rio 

190 



NEW MEXICO. 191 

Grande Valley is more nearly a duplication of the region of the Nile 
than any other of which I have knowledge. 

Not more than one-tenth of the soil is actually occupied. A consid- 
erable portion of it is unfortunately covered by grants claimed or con- 
firmed. Fruits are favorite articles of production. Peaches, pears, apri- 
cots, apples, grapes succeed admirably, though in most instances, and 
notably with exception of the grape, the varieties are the poorest. In- 
deed, the word " variety " can scarcely be applied to them. The grape 
is free from disease, and affords wines which are in growing demand 
abroad. With skilled labor and capital to enable manufacturers to carry 
their wine a sufficient time, no portion of the country, not excepting 
California, will surpass this valley in this line of production. 

In all instances, and whatever the crop, the dependence of the farmer 
is upon the river, which, when irrigation is thoroughly systematized, will 
be found furnishing an ample supply of water. Iron piping will then 
take the place of the open acequias and the area of planting be vastly 
increased. 

The wonder is that more attention has not been given this part of the 
country by people East seeking investments in landed property. One 
gentleman I have heard of near Mesilla, in Dona Ana county, who clears 
annually quite ten thousand dollars from the fruit-products of twenty 
acres. Paying vineyards are also to be found at Bernalillo and Albu- 
querque. 

THE PECOS RIVER VALLEY. 

This valley, deriving its name from the river Pecos, is not so thickly 
settled as its rival of the Rio Grande. The lands there are almost en- 
tirely occupied for grazing purposes. A good supply of water is obtain- 
able from the Pecos River and its tributaries, and every inch to which it 
can be carried will respond richly to the plough. Its advantage is in the 
absence of land grants, and, like the Rio Grande, it is blessed with a 
climate most healthful and delightful. 

THE MESILLA VALLEY. 

The beautiful region bearing this name should have a special mention 

by itself, but, to economize space, I have thought best to treat it as a part 

of the Rio Grande Valley. Agriculturally considered, it is the same. 
f 

CATTLE- AND SHEEP-GRAZING. 

Off the Pecos and Rio Grande Rivers there are vast tracts of table- 
lands, called mesas, which are to be distinguished from the mountains 



192 THE GREAT WEST. 

and valleys. They are too high for irrigation, yet they yield grasses of 
the richest kind for subsistence of cattle and sheep — grasses that cure 
themselves in the standing stalk. 

The variety of these mesa-tops permitting, as on the mountain-sides, 
the growth only of grass and cedar and pinon trees — the latter invaluable 
for shelter of animals, particularly in winter — will for ever limit their 
use to grazing. The ranges they offer cannot be excelled for that purpose ; 
adding them to the ranges on the mountain-sides, the vastness of accom- 
modations for feeding cattle, sheep, and horses can be appreciated. The 
inexpensiveness of the mode is well understood. 

The old dispute as to which is the more profitable, cattle-raising or 
sheep-raising, is yet unsettled, each having very intelligent and practical 
adherents. 

That New Mexico has not her proper place in the meat- and wool- 
markets of the United States may be set down to causes now very soon 
to disappear. They are — first, difficulties with Indians ; second, the in- 
ferior quality of the stock, no attention whatever having been given by 
owners to importation of blooded animals ; third, other localities, claim- 
ing original shipments, have been largely credited with the products due 
this Territory. 

I regret not having statistics to enable me to give the quantity of wool 
produced or the number of cattle and sheep in ownership. The results 
in either case would be astonishing to those who know little or nothing 
about New Mexico, who are in the habit of regarding it as chiefly de- 
sirable on account of its climate. The increase of both sheep and cattle 
is constant, and the improvement of breeds is becoming more and more 
noticeable. 

THE MINERALS OF NEW MEXICO. 

Notwithstanding the adverse judgment of Lieutenant Wheeler in his 
very able report for 1876, I am of opinion that New Mexico will come 
quite up with her neighbors in the yield of precious metals. A variety 
of causes have heretofore contributed to prevent her thorough explora- 
tion for such wealth. Both Mexicans and Indians are indifferent to dis- 
coveries in this line ; in fact, the latter yet make it a capital offence to 
show a prospector anything of the kind. A Pueblo might be induced 
to part with his eye-teeth ; no inducement could prevail upon him to 
take a white man to a mine ; and in the hands of these people the golden 
keys have been held in tight grip ever since the expulsion of the Span- 
iards. Hence the ignorance prevalent with respect to the mineral riches 



NEW MEXICO. 193 



of the Territory, and the heretofore utter failure of attempts at their de- 
velopment. It is absurd to say that an arbitrary geographical line marks 
a silver or gold limit. With productive mining districts on the south, 
west, and north, and with geological formations identically the same, the 
best of the scientists will be hard put to to give a reason why New Mex- 
ico is barren, and Chihuahua, Arizona, and Colorado are rich beyond 
computation, in gold, silver, copper, and galena. And now every day is 
settling the question. The genuine prospector is here, and come to stay. 
He is in the mountains everywhere. Bugbear stories do not stop him, 
neither do land grants, rattlesnakes, bears, or painted Indians. He has 
discovered and adopted the burro as a friend, comrade, and servant. The 
consequence is new "finds" every day in out-of-the-way places. All 
mining history is divisible into two parts — the era of prospecting and 
the era of production. In New Mexico we have just entered upon the 
former ; five years will bring us to the latter. What can be had cheap 
to-day will then cost a fortune. Men seeking mining investments are 
welcome to the hint. There are more traces and signs of ancient mining 
in New Mexico than in either Colorado or Arizona. 

Already enough is known to warrant the assertion that the Territory 
is well stored with gold, silver, iron, copper, lead, zinc, mica, gypsum, 
coal, marble, precious stones, and stone of every variety for building. 



RESOURCES OF NEW MEXICO. 

BY L. BRADFORD PRINCE, CHIEF-JUSTICE OF THE TERRITORY. 



IN writing a general letter to old friends on Long Island on this subject 
last spring, I said that there was no opening at all for men without 
some means — that mechanics, clerks, and laboring-men could find no ade- 
quate field of labor. This was based on the fact that the wants of the 
native population are generally few and easily satisfied, that as a rule they 
are far from rich, that they have little desire for new houses, and that 
whatever building was progressing was in adobe, with which our mechan- 
ics were unacquainted ; and, as to clerks and laborers, that there were 
more men than places already. This was entirely true then, but the cir- 

13 



194 THE GREAT WEST. 

cumstances are since somewhat changed by the advance of the railroad. 
The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa ¥6 line has now not only reached Las 
Vegas, but is pressing with all the speed that enterprise and full resources 
can impart to the Rio Grande, which it is expected to reach by Christmas. 
It brings with it a new and active population and a great change in con- 
ditions. Las Vegas is to-day one of the busiest towns in the country — 
full of active, bustling, restless American life. A hundred and fifty 
houses have been built in six weeks, and there is a constant struggle now 
to procure mechanics for rapid future improvements. The haste to build 
may be exemplified by the fact that I counted twenty-four carpenters on 
the roof of one half-finished hotel, all busily engaged at the same time 
in shingling. 

These circumstances of course present a field for mechanics, and I 
believe that the advance of the railroad will cause this field to increase 
rather than diminish for the next two or three years. Carpenters, masons, 
painters, and plasterers can all find employment in considerable number ; 
but especially carpenters, as houses must be built, but painting and plaster- 
ing are matters of not such immediate necessity. A few cabinetmakers, 
who can make and repair the furniture suitable to a new population, can 
also find profitable employment. These, I think, constitute all the classes 
of men without any capital who would do well to come to New Mexico 
at present. There is no lack of common laborers or of young men fitted 
to be store-clerks. 

And now for the branches of business in which those with some money 
can profitably engage. 

SHEEP-RAISING. 

I mention this first, because it is the most important industry of the 
Territory. It extends from the extreme east on the head-waters of the 
Canadian River to the San Juan country in the far north-west. The 
sheep of New Mexico are to be counted by the million, and yet there is 
plenty of room for new enterprises both as to number and quality. To 
commence the business properly requires a capital of five thousand dol- 
lars, which will buy two thousand sheep and provide for all necessary 
■ expenses until a regular income is derived from the flock. No business 
can be safer, surer, or more healthful ; but, like all others, it requires 
work and attention, and if any one thinks that sheep-raising is to be 
conducted profitably by living in town and having flocks roaming the 
prairies under irresponsible herdsmen, without personal attention, he had 
better remain at the East. 



NEW MEXICO. 195 

CATTLE-RAISING. 

An immense field for this branch of industry is still open in New 
Mexico, and it can be surely successful under the same conditions as with 
sheep-raising. The profits are greater, but it requires a larger capital at 
the commencement and a longer period before there are returns of income. 

FRUIT-RAISING. 

The whole valley of the Rio Grande from Santa F6 to Socorro is ad- 
mirably adapted to fruit-culture, and so are other portions of the Territory. 
Plums and apricots flourish considerably to the north of Santa F6, and 
grapes — of which I will speak separately — to the extreme south of the 
Territory. It is only within a few years that fine varieties of fruit have 
been introduced from the Eastern States, but the perfection in which they 
can be raised here, and the size which they attain, are extraordinary. The 
flavor of fruits here appears to be much higher than in California. Until 
now it has been useless to extend the culture largely, as there was no ade- 
quate market for the products ; but now that there will soon be direct 
communication by rail with Kansas and Colorado, the valley of the Rio 
Grande will become the great orchard of the West. Any good fruit- 
culturist coming now to New Mexico and establishing orchards in that 
fertile valley, will find an immense market open by the time his trees 
are in bearing, and cannot fail to reap a profitable reward. 

VINEYARDS AND WINE-MAKING. 

For years the grapes and vines of El Paso have been celebrated, but 
this gives but a small idea of the extent of this vineyard-region or of the 
future importance of this branch of industry. The Rio Grande Valley 
from Bernalillo down to the Mexican line is naturally a grape-groM r ing 
region, and vineyards are already in full bearing at all the important 
points, and at some have existed for more than two hundred years. The 
finest varieties of both native and foreign grapes succeed admirably, so 
that raising the fruit for immediate shipment will be a most excellent 
business within two years, when the railroad shall have made transporta- 
tion swift and easy. It is none too soon now to arrange the vineyards 
for this approaching trade, as the demand will be enormous before vines 
planted this fall or next spring come to bearing. The grape now ordina- 
rily grown, and of which vineyards of full size can be purchased if de- 
sired, produces an excellent wine largely used at present in the Territory, 
and which will no doubt find a market abroad as soon as the railroad is 



196 THE GREAT WEST. ' 

completed. Unless all reports are false, this is the finest vineyard coun- 
try in America, the climate allowing the growth of many varieties too 
tender for the North, while the flavor is higher than in Californian 
grapes. The present native wine is said to carry more than an ordinary 
amount of spirits, and to produce an excellent brandy at small cost. It 
is stated by those whose judgment in such matters is reliable that a com- 
petent distiller can do a large and profitable business by buying the native 
wine and distilling brandy therefrom. 

MARKET-GARDENS. . 

While a great proportion of the land in the Territory is adapted to 
grazing, yet there are beautiful valleys of extraordinary fertility where 
enormous crops can be raised on small areas. Such are the valleys of 
Mora and Taos, part of the Pecos Valley, etc. These present just the 
field adapted to German market-gardeners, for whose products the new 
hotels and advancing tide of population will make a ready market. 

And here I will mention one specific want which a few enterprising 
persons can soon remedy with profit to themselves and benefit to the com- 
munity. I refer to chickens and eggs. These are very scarce, no one 
apparently making it a business to raise them ; and any one engaging in 
the business can find a ready sale for a quantity practically unlimited. 

WOOLLEN-MILLS. 

Turning from farm-products to manufactures, the most profitable in- 
vestment in the latter connection would be a woollen-mill. "Wool is the 
great product of New Mexico. It is here in inexhaustible quantities, 
and at present is all transported East at a very heavy expense to be man- 
ufactured. Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, and New Mexico itself, present 
a vast market for woollen products, which are now brought from the East- 
ern factories ; so the wool raised here pays a double freight before it ar- 
rives at the West again, to be used in the form of blankets, carpets, and 
clothing. It is obvious that mills on the ground would save all this ex- 
pense, and that their business could not fail to be profitable. It may be 
added that in the few manufacturing experiments tried here it has been 
demonstrated that the native boys make excellent factory-hands. 

TANNERIES. 

In this land of hides, sheep-skins, and fancy skins there are no tanner- 
ies. Everything is sent away for that purpose. The extra freight on the 
useless weight thus transported is itself a large item. Of fancy skins 



NEW MEXICO. 



197 



there is a great variety, including bears, mountain-lions, beavers, red and 
gray foxes, wolves, minks, etc., all of which when tanned are readily 
sold and command good prices ; but at present they have to be sent long 
distances for tanning. I know of two lots very recently sent to New 
York for that purpose, thus entailing the expense of five thousand miles 
of transportation to and fro. A tannery established here, where the 
hides and skins could be brought directly to the door, could not fail to 
be largely profitable, even though the tanning material had to be brought 
from other places. 

BRICKMAKERS. 

In various parts of the Territory there is good brick-clay, and from 
this time forward large quantities of bricks will be wanted. A practical 
brickmaker cannot fail to be successful. 

BANKING. 

By far the finest opportunity for an investment of capital, by those 
who do not wish hard work, is a bank in Las Vegas. A national bank 
is greatly wanted there, and would be very profitable. The business of 
the town is already very large, and as an immense section of country is 
now and must continue to be tributary to Las Vegas, it will undoubtedly 
increase. The immediate deposits would be considerable, and the oppor- 
tunities for safe loans are abundant. The lowest bank-rate in the Terri- 
tory is one and a half per cent, a month ; and a careful inquiry as to the 
success of other banks here and the business condition of Las Vegas 
leads me to say confidently that no such opportunity for a safe and prof- 
itable investment of capital exists to-day in the whole country as in the 
establishment of a national bank at that city. 

MINING. 

I have reserved this for the last, as it is probably the most interesting 
topic of this letter. Almost every section of New Mexico abounds in 
" mineral," and the amount of gold, silver, copper, coal, and mica within 
its limits may be called incalculable. I will not enumerate all the local- 
ities, but venture the assertion that in less than five years New Mexico 
will be the great field of American mining enterprise. All that is wanted 
now is development. The gold-mines of Colfax county are practically 
useless until the conclusion of the pending foreclosure of the mortgage 
on the Maxwell land grant sets free the belt of rich mining-lands within 
its limits. The same is true of gold, copper, and mica on the Mora grant, 



198 THE GREAT WEST. 

now in process of partition. These two great grants, together containing 
about two million six hundred thousand acres, have been standing right 
in the gateway of immigration into the Territory as a kind of barrier, 
but the next few months will no doubt see the title of each settled, and 
this vast extent of land, embracing mineral, farming, and grazing dis- 
tricts, thrown open to American energy and enterprise. All through the 
Territory excellent prospects exist, but all need development. The pla- 
cers contain millions of dollars in gold-dust, but in general cannot be 
worked for want of water, which can only be obtained at considerable 
expense. By meeting that expense an immense return could be ensured. 

The Cerillos silver-mines are in a most encouraging condition, but need 
capital for development. They are situated on the very hillsides from 
which the Spaniards extracted unknown millions centuries ago, until the 
enslaved Indians arose and drove them from the land, and endeavored to 
destroy every trace of their sufferings by filling up the mines in which 
they had labored. 

At the Cerillos are dozens of claims showing excellent veins of " min- 
eral," but very few of the prospectors have the money with which to sink 
shafts to the distance necessary for profitable results. Around Silver City 
and Shakespeare there is much mining enterprise, but everywhere there 
is a necessity for more capital for development. Reports come daily of 
rich new discoveries, which can no doubt generally be taken with some 
grains of allowance ; but this much is true, that but a moderate portion 
of the Territory has been prospected at all, and that the indications are 
that a short time will develop fields of mining industry which will give 
profitable employment for thousands of men and millions of capital. 

Coal is found in large quantities and of excellent quality in several 
sections of the Territory. The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad 
Company recently bought a considerable section of coal-land belonging 
to the government, but there is still room for plenty of private enter- 
prise in this direction. 

THE PROFESSIONS. 

Many professional men, lawyers and physicians, inquire as to the 
chances for successful practice here. To these I can only say that there 
is always plenty of professional business for those who are competent and 
skilful, who obtain the confidence of the community, and who really 
mean in good faith to labor zealously in their professions. The bar of 
New Mexico is second in ability to that of few of the States. No one 
should come with the idea that he is going to find an inferior degree of 



NEW MEXICO. 199 

talent here, but yet there is room for a few more lawyers of the right 
kind. The same may be said as to physicians ; with the addition, that 
the increasing population of course requires more medical attendance, and 
that there are country towns of considerable size which at present have 
no qualified physician. 

Thus I have sketched as briefly as I could some of the business oppor- 
tunities and something of the industrial situation in New Mexico. I 
shall add here that the climate, which is altogether the finest in the 
country, will allow thousands of those who are invalids at the East to 
engage in active business here. Especially to those having weak lungs it 
presents great advantages. Here they can raise vineyards and orchards 
if they do not care to risk the roughness of life on a ranche. The 
medicinal and hot springs at Las Vegas, now under control of the rail- 
road company, which is making rapid improvements, will be a resort 
giving the advantages of Eastern watering-place life to the families of 
such residents as desire it before next summer. And — what is perhaps 
of the greatest importance to those proposing to locate here, and presents 
a marked contrast to attempted settlement in the Southern States — they 
will find the native population polite, generous, and hospitable almost to 
a fault, with no dislike or distrust of newcomers of the proper class, but 
inclined to welcome good citizens from wheresoever they come. Con- 
sidering the circumstances of the case, and the character of some of the 
first Americans who came to the Territory, it is really surprising that so 
much goodwill should be felt by the so-called " Mexican " population 
toward the newcomer; but it certainly does exist, and those who choose 
to make New Mexico their home, and who are entitled to respect and con- 
fidence, will find a welcome anywhere in the Territory, and need have no 
fear of being branded as " carpet-baggers " or ostracized from society. 




WYOMING. 

BY HON. JOHN W. HOYT, GOVERNOE. 



SCENERY. 

WYOMING scenery is a subject for poet and painter. One sees much 
of the poorest of it in travelling over the great Pacific Railroad, 
and some that is sure to enkindle his enthusiasm. It is much to live in 
the presence of beautiful and magnificent surroundings, for Nature at her 
best exerts a most refining and elevating influence. Esthetic and moral 
culture is the priceless product of her teaching. 

Many a Wyoming herdsman grazes his cattle and many a shepherd 
watches his flock in the midst of scenery that would challenge the genius 
of a Turner or Salvator. He is the better for it, and the children who 
play about his cabin-door and gambol on the bank of the beautiful stream 
flowing past will be the better citizens for these silent lessons. I cannot 
here attempt even to locate these glories of the landscape ; one finds them 
on every mountain-side and in nearly every valley. When better known 
they will make of Wyoming, including that "wonderland" the great 
National Park, a region of resort for pleasure-seekers from every part 
of the world. 

POPULATION. 

A very large proportion of the population consists of former residents 
of the New England and Middle States. Of the foreign population (not 
large) the majority are German. In the coal-mines at Evanston and Pock 
Springs, and the Atlantic City coal-mines, are considerable numbers of 
Chinese. There are also some persons of this nationality at several of 
the larger towns along the railway, the whole number in the Territory 
aggregating four or five hundred. 

The great majority of the population occupy the sixty-nine towns, 
villages, and stations along the Union Pacific Railroad. The remainder 
are found at South Pass, Atlantic, Miners' Delight, Lander — all in the 
200 




GIANT'S BUTTE, GREEN RIVER. 



WYOMING. 201 

region of the Wind River Mountains ; at Centennial, Douglas Creek, 
Snowy Range, and other mining points in and about the Medicine Bow 
and Seminole Mountains ; at the several military posts, in the settle- 
ments on the Bear River and its tributaries in South-western Wy- 
oming, and on numerous isolated ranches throughout the southern and 
middle portions of the Territory. 

The two great branches of industry are the pastoral and mining. The 
bulk of capital employed is invested in live-stock, though much of the 
population and a good deal of the mercantile business are in some way 
connected with the mining industry, manufacturing, and the business of 
transportation. The Pacific Railroad Company alone has on its pay-rolls 
and connected with its extensive operations — machine-shops, rolling-mills, 
stations, and mines included — quite a percentage of the laboring popula- 
tion. These of course occupy the towns and villages along the line. 

Of the capitalists engaged in the stock-business and mining, very nearly 
the whole number also live in the towns, even though their mines or 
ranches should be two or more hundred miles in the interior. The herd- 
ers, and they who, as foremen, have immediate oversight of the herds and 
flocks or mines, live on the ranches or in the camps of necessity, but the 
proprietors, with few exceptions, reside upon the railway, and with their 
teams go and come as interest demands. In the towns they are the men 
who, with the merchants, prominent men of the trades, and professional 
men, mould society and govern in public affairs. Hence it is well for the 
Territory that they are almost universally men of character, intelligence, 
and foresight ; men who, having the beginnings of fortunes at the East, 
have come out here to enlarge them more rapidly than was possible there ; 
men of former means and position, who during the financial storms of 
these recent years suffered partial wreck and sought a field wherein to 
recuperate their failing fortunes ; young men, members of first families, 
who feeling the pinch of close quarters in New York, Philadelphia, and 
Boston, and desiring to breathe the freer air of the great West, have 
taken a sum modest or large as convenient, and are here for the threefold 
advantage of increase in wealth, invigoration of health, and the indescri- 
bable charms of a frontier-life under sunny skies and in the midst of sub- 
lime surroundings ; ambitious graduates of Dartmouth, Yale, Harvard, 
and other colleges, who were willing to postpone entrance upon their life- 
pursuits until they had first felt the inspiring touch of Nature and laid a 
foundation for future independence ; men also of special culture in litera- 
ture or science, who, for the time at least, have left the unremunerative 
life of research, that they may divide a few years of time between the 



202 THE GREAT WEST. 

pleasures of private study and the building of a little fortune. All these 
are here, and for the greater part are realizing their most sanguine expec- 
tations. 

The other classes are common to all communities, though an unusually 
large proportion of those who compose them are characterized by a special 
energy, tact, and enterprise. 

As a matter of simple justice to a people who are still suffering, in the 
judgment of a remote public, for the sins of unworthy forerunners, whom 
they long since succeeded, — for this reason and none other I deem it pro- 
per to represent the present population of Wyoming as being especially 
characterized not only by courage, keenness, enterprise, and energy, but 
also by a most commendable love of good order and by a liberality of 
sentiment rarely found in any community. 



REPORT OF THE SURVEYOR-GENERAL, 

EDWARD C. DAVID. 
GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 

THE area of Wyoming is 97,883 square miles, of which 9,000,000 acres 
are surveyed into sections and 42,638 acres are improved. The real and 
personal property amounts to $20,000,000, the population is 30,000, and 
the towns and villages number 69. There are extensive forests, coal- 
fields, gold-bearing lands, and mines of silver, copper, iron, graphite and 
sulphur j also extensive deposits of soda and inexhaustible springs of pe- 
troleum. Minerals, timber, and stock constitute the principal resources. 
A large supply of cattle, horses, sheep, and wool is sold in this Territory 
or shipped to the East annually. The pure air, dry climate, mild win- 
ters, and nutritious grasses render the advantages in stock-raising unri- 
valled, and it is becoming a great source of wealth to the settlers. The 
cattle feed and fatten upon the short but nutritious bunch- and gramma- 
grasses of the Plains in winter and summer, without shelter, as has been 
proven during many past winters. The favorite wintering-ground of 
the herders and shepherds is along the east slope of the Laramie Moun- 
tains, at an altitude of about four thousand five hundred feet above sea- 
level, and their herds are generally healthy and fat even in winter. The 
annual loss in cattle, from all causes, is only two per cent., and the cost 
per head for keeping a herd of ten thousand is not more than one dollar. 
A profit of one hundred per cent, has been realized in investments in 



WYOMING. 203 

cattle, and the profits are never less than twenty per cent. Butter and 
cheese are beginning to be extensively made for the home supply. The 
number of cattle in Wyoming is 300,000, and yet the wide pastures in 
Northern Wyoming are unoccupied, though as large as Pennsylvania, 
and a choice portion of the Territory. Here the valleys are productive 
and beautiful, and the meadows are of surprising richness and almost 
endless succession. Thousands of square miles in the valleys of Powder 
River and its branches are found to be susceptible of producing all the 
cereals with irrigation, and in many places without irrigation in favorable 
seasons. For more than one hundred miles there is a succession of crys- 
tal trout-streams, fringed with timber. The late occupation of this re- 
gion by the Indians has prevented it from being sooner settled. The 
number of sheep in Wyoming is 200,000, and they are often wintered 
by grazing. The number of horses is 20,000. The North Platte basin 
contains 8,000,000 acres of pasturage, with lasting streams and good shel- 
ter in the bluifs and canons ; and this area would feed 8,000,000 sheep, 
yielding 4,000,000 pounds of wool, worth $6,000,000. The Laramie 
Plains, nearly one hundred miles wide, and once the favorite resort of the 
buifalo, are now occupied by herders and shepherds in all seasons, and 
here they are near the great forests of pine and the Union Pacific Rail- 
road, and settlers can obtain iron ore, white marble, building-stone, lime- 
stone, and fire-clay. The shipment of cattle increases largely every year, 
and many will be required for the Pacific slope and for the home demand. 
The quality of cattle has been greatly improved by importing thorough- 
bred Durham stock. 

The valleys and sloping plains in Northern Wyoming are only of 
three or four thousand feet altitude, and will prove more desirable to 
the farmer and stock-raiser than the higher plains along the rail- 
road. 

CLIMATE. 

The climate of Wyoming is very salubrious, and the impression among 
the inhabitants of lower altitudes that it is hyperborean and chilled by 
deep snowdrifts for half the year is erroneous. The mean temperature 
at Fort Laramie for twenty years has been 50°, the annual rainfall eighteen 
inches, and the snow, which is light and soon disappears, was of the same 
annual depth. From observations by army officers at Fort Laramie and 
Cheyenne, from 1855 through a period of seventeen years, it is proven 
that these localities have a mean annual temperature corresponding to 
that of Middle Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana, and that the annual 
and monthly ranges of the thermometer are more moderate than in those 



204 THE GREAT WEST. 

States. The rainfall seems to range from five to nineteen inches per an- 
num. The force of the wind is diminished greatly by the mountain-ele- 
vations. From 1850 to 1855 the average temperature was 49°, the same 
as at Cheyenne since 1871. Army surgeons and physicians here pro- 
nounce Wyoming one of the most healthful portions of the world. The 
air is light and pure, with sufficient oxygen to exhilarate the nervous sys- 
tem. The thermometrical changes, though sometimes sudden, are of 
short duration. Fort Russell in 1869 gave 55°.78| mean temperature, 
with cool and bracing evenings and mornings during the summer. The 
isothermal line of 50° annual mean temperature, from Burlington, Iowa, 
passes through Fort Laramie and thence to Puget Sound, bearing stead- 
ily north of west from the Mississippi. Strong and frequent winds in 
fall and winter are an objectionable feature in the climate, but they are 
not so prevalent in the mountain-valleys, and never increase to a hurri- 
cane, as in lower countries. 

TOPOGRAPHY. 

The general elevation of the plains and valleys of Southern Wyoming 
is from five to seven thousand feet above the sea, and the mountains are 
from one to four thousand feet higher. The altitude of Pine Bluifs is 
5026 feet ; Cheyenne, 6041 feet ; Sherman, the highest point on the rail- 
road, 8241 feet ; Laramie City, 7123 ; Medicine Bow, 6550 ; Carbon, 
6750; Fort Steele, 6840; Creston, 7030; Green River, 6140; and 
Wahsatch, five miles west of the Wyoming boundary, 6879 feet. The 
Union Pacific Railroad, on which the above-mentioned towns are im- 
portant stations, is the chief resource for transportation over the 488 
miles of its length located in Wyoming, and has an average grade of 
only four feet per mile. The Laramie, North Platte, and Green 
Rivers flow through a region supposed to have once been the bed of 
fresh-water lakes, and now producing but a sparse growth of vegetation, 
mainly artemisia or sage-brush. Bear River, rising in the Uintah Moun- 
tains, runs north in a monoclinal valley ; and these rivers, with their 
tributaries, drain the south half of Wyoming. The north half, sloping 
north and east, is drained principally by Wind River, the Big and Little 
Horn, Tongue, Powder, and Cheyenne Rivers — all, except the latter, 
being confluents of the Yellowstone. 

The Wind River Mountains in the north-west constitute the watershed 
of the Yellowstone on the north-east, and of Green and Snake Rivers on 
the south-west, and culminate in the Three Tetons and Fremont's Peak, 
the latter 13,750 feet high. The Big Horn Mountains are in the central 



WYOMING. 205 

portion of Northern Wyoming, and their highest peaks rise above the 
snow-line. The Carboniferous limestone resembles the older strata, in 
which are found the silver and galeniferous ores of Utah. The Triassic 
sandstone contains salt and gypsum. The coal-fields of Wyoming are 
in the lower Tertiary beds, and hematite iron ore two to fifteen inches 
thick is found in the same strata. 

COAL. 

The mineral resources of the Territory are vast and varied, and of 
these coal is the most important. Evanston produces 125,000 tons 
annually, Rock Springs 144,000, and Carbon 75,000. Coal is found in 
the Medicine Bow Mountains, Laramie Peak, Separation, the Big Horn 
Mountains, Rock Creek, Fort Fetterman, Black Buttes, Hallville, Point 
of Rocks, and at many other points noted by the United States deputy 
surveyors. Most of the mines extensively worked are on the railroad. 
The Wyoming coal has but little sulphur, and for domestic use is p're- 
ferred to the bituminous. It resembles lignite, is brittle, but nearly as 
compact as anthracite, and is used in Nevada for smelting the silver and 
lead ores. The Evanston coal has the largest per cent, of carbon, and 
the stratum is twenty-seven feet thick. On the Missouri River the 
Wyoming coal is preferred to that of Iowa. There are 267,319 acres 
of coal-lands already surveyed into sections, and in 1877, 275,000 tons 
were the product of the mines. 

Magnetic iron ore, in mountain-masses, yielding seventy-two per cent., 
is found forty miles west of north from Cheyenne, on the east side of 
Laramie Mountain, to which an easy railroad grade can be obtained. 
Red oxide of iron, used in manufacturing metallic paint and the reduc- 
tion of silver ores, is found, accompanied with strong indications of cop- 
per, three miles north of Rawlings, and here considerable capital has 
been used in paint-works. 

GOLD. 

The gold-mines on Douglas Creek in the Medicine Bow Mountains, 
though yielding only $15 per ton of quartz, are profitably and easily 
worked, and have valuable improvements. 

Gold is also found on Rock Creek and in the Big Horn, Wind River, 
and Seminoe Mountains. The area reported in recent surveys is 31,151 
acres of lands containing gold. In the Sweetwater gold-mines the quartz 
yields $50 per ton, and a choice specimen from the Seminoe Mines 
yielded $106 per ton. 



zOb THE GREAT WEST. 

SODA. 

The soda-lakes in the valley of the Sweetwater are about one hundred 
in number, with areas of twenty to one hundred acres, and contain 
deposits of sulphate of soda ten to fifteen feet thick, almost chemically 
pure, having nineteen per cent, of soda and twenty-four per cent, of 
sulphuric acid, making forty-three per cent, of sulphate of soda. The 
largest lake has fifty million cubic feet of soda, and one boring of forty 
feet did not reach the bottom of the deposit. The water containing the 
salts rises from the bottom and fills any excavation made, thus rendering 
the supply inexhaustible. The seven million dollars paid by the United 
States yearly for a foreign article can be earned by these mines, five of 
which have been surveyed for the claimants. 

The hot springs in the valley of the North Platte, at the foot of the 
Medicine Bow Mountains, have been improved as a resort for invalids, 
and those near Camp Brown are valuable for their medicinal properties. 

There is an oil-spring on the Popo Agie, near the Shoshone lands, of 
heavy, non-inflammable lubricating oil, which has been surveyed for the 
claimant, and this oil is preferred by the railroad company. Crude 
petroleum is also found on Bear, Green, and Wind Eivers. 

Three copper-mines surveyed yield ores largely mixed with lead and 
silver. 

FORESTS. 

The forests of Wyoming will furnish to the settlers the means of cheap 
improvement, and they cover an area of ten million acres. Saw-mills at 
various points are converting the logs into lumber, the annual product 
of which is 5,000,000, shingles 3,000,000, and laths 1,000,000, besides 
500,000 railroad ties and 2,000,000 bushels of charcoal. 

The Snowy Range is covered with vast forests of pine, cedar, fir, 
spruce, and hemlock, equal to that of Michigan ; and much of this tim- 
ber is near the railroad. The Medicine Bow, Uintah, Wind River, Big 
Horn, Wahsatch, and Aspen Mountains are as heavily timbered, and the 
streams when full in the spring can all be used for rafting saw-logs, 
wood, ties, posts, and poles to the railroad. The Big and Little Laramie, 
Rock, Medicine Bow, North Platte, Bear, and Green Rivers and their 
tributaries can all be utilized for rafting timber to the railroad and for 
sawing it into lumber, adding prosperity and wealth to the railroad-sta- 
tions on these streams, and supplying the wants of settlers, of future rail- 
roads, and of telegraph-lines. There are also pine-lands in the Laramie 
Mountains and in the north-east and north-west corners of the Territory ; 



WYOMING. 207 

350,000 railroad cross-ties, 200,000 cords of wood, 1,000,000 feet of saw- 
logs, and 40,000 fence-poles were cut in one township, and yet this 
amount of depredation only consumed one-seventh of the dense growth 
of timber in that township. 

Larger bodies of thrifty timber are annually killed by the firing of 
dry windfalls by mischievous Indians, careless hunters, and lightning 
than in any other way, and the fires this fall have wasted millions in 
value. 

AGRICULTURE. 

"Where the valleys can be irrigated, wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, 
cabbage, turnips, beets, onions, etc. can be raised. The loamy soil is 
very productive, and oats, barley, and potatoes grow finely and ripen at 
Laramie City, at an altitude of seven thousand two hundred feet, the 
potatoes yielding four hundred bushels per acre. Potatoes, beets, onions, 
asparagus, beans, peas, lettuce, radishes, turnips, carrots, parsnips, cab- 
bage, cauliflower, melons, cucumbers, and squashes are raised at Fort 
Fetterman. 

Several thousand acres on the Laramie River are irrigated by a canal 
twelve feet wide and twelve miles long. The valleys of the Lodge Pole, 
Horse Creek, Chugwater, and Laramie River can all be irrigated and 
made to grow thirty bushels of wheat per acre, and where streams are 
wanting water can be raised from wells by windmills, as in California, 
the water being abundant fifteen to thirty feet below the surface, as in 
the wells at Cheyenne, generally half full of water. A well two hun- 
dred feet deep filled to within ten feet of the surface. 

CITIES, TOWNS, AND VILLAGES. 

Cheyenne, at the junction of the Denver and Union Pacific Railroads, 
and near the junction of the Colorado Central, is the capital of Wyoming 
and the county-seat of Laramie county, and has a population of five 
thousand and an area of one thousand five hundred acres. It has six 
churches, a large brick high-school building, two large brick hotels, 
several extensive wholesale establishments, factories for making wagons 
and carriages and for the manufacture of jewelry, and there are many fine 
brick residences. It is supplied with water for irrigation by ditches and 
reservoirs, and by a steam-pump for security against fire. Its trade with 
freighters, miners, and stock-raisers, and with Camp Carlin and Fort 
Russell, near it, is extensive, and it is a division station on the railroad. 
Its average temperature in 1878-79 was — summer 65°.37, rainfall, 1.88 



208 THE GREAT WEST. 

inches ; autumn, 40°.38, rainfall, 0.33 inch ; winter, 25°.27, rainfall, 0.24 
inch; spring, 46°. 63, rainfall, 1.13 inches. 

Laramie City has 2000 inhabitants, four churches, a very fine school- 
building, a public library, a hospital costing $12,000, and the machine- 
shops, rolling-mill, and large hotel of the railroad. It is irrigated with 
water from the mountains. 

The town of Wyoming has a sawmill for the manufacture of lumber 
from timber rafted down the Little Laramie. 

Carbon is a mining town of 800 inhabitants, and ships a large amount 
of coal. 

Green River and Rawlings — both county-seats — Rock Springs, Hillard, 
Bitter Creek, Bryan, and Carter are in a coal and iron region, and are 
important railroad-stations. 

Evanston has 2000 inhabitants, a public library, water-supply, and saw- 
mill ; also extensive coal-mines and a thriving lumber-trade. 

Hamilton, South Pass, and Atlantic City are near the Sweetwater gold- 
mines, and have a total of 2000 inhabitants. 

The' seven forts in the Territory have been sufficient to keep the 
Indians from depredating to any great extent, though the Utes in 
North Park, near the south boundary, have lately been hostile. The 
Shoshones have had a part of their reservation surveyed into sections. 

The Chinese are peaceable and industrious, but are slow to assimilate 
with American customs. 



Buffalo are becoming scarce, but the hunters still find an abundance of 
elk, antelope, and beaver, besides mountain-sheep, rabbits, squirrels, par- 
tridges, grouse, quail, sage-hens, ducks, and geese ; also otter, mink, marten, 
ermine, and musk-rat. Of the predatory animals we have the fox, coyote, 
wild-cat, lynx, panther, mountain-lion, and bear. Speckled trout abound 
in most of the streams of Northern Wyoming. 

MANUFACTURING RESOURCES. 

With abundant water-power in the large streams, with an inexhaust- 
ible supply of coal, and with railroad transportation through the entire 
length of the Territory, railroad iron, wrought iron, and heavy cast-iron 
utensils and machinery can be made in Wyoming. Lumber, leather, and 
glass can be manufactured, the white marble wrought, and the soda and 
sulphur refined. 



WYOMING. 209 



ADDENDA. 



The admirable graded-school system adopted here is similar to that of 
Michigan. The Territorial library now contains five thousand volumes. 

The removal of the Sioux from Northern Wyoming has given fresh 
impulse to settlement in that fertile region. 




MONTANA. 

BY ROBERT STRAHORN. 



MONTANA, next to the youngest, and one of the largest Territories 
of the Union, lies between the 45th and 49th degrees of north lati- 
tude and the 104th and 116th meridians of west longitude. It is bounded 
on the north by the British possessions, on the south by Idaho and Wy- 
oming, on the east by Dakota, and on the west by Idaho. 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 

This magnificent empire of the New North-west contains an area of 
150,000 square miles, or nearly 100,000,000 acres. Of this, 16,000,000 
acres are fertile farm-lands, a more extensive area than is covered by an 
entire average Eastern State. It contains 38,000,000 acres of unexcelled 
grazing-lands, a pasture-field alone larger than the great prairie State of 
Illinois. Its surface, underlaid with stratum after stratum of coal — 
largely embraced in the grazing and agricultural area already mentioned 
— amounts to 60,000 square miles, and would not only cover the giant 
State of Pennsylvania, but would extend over the boundaries of the 
commonwealths which encompass that greatest of all our Eastern coal- 
mining regions. And then the Montana forests, 14,000,000 acres in 
extent, cover more territory than those of the noted lumbering State of 
Michigan, whose product in this line reaches a valuation of $40,000,000 
per .annum. Of the mineral wealth the world knows more, for it 
is a region whose quartz-veins and sluice-boxes have poured out over 
$150,000,000 in treasure in the first seventeen years of its settlement. 
In questioning Montana's position and climate, readers should remember 
that the whole of England, Ireland, Scotland, Belgium, Holland, and some 
of the most beautiful and fertile portions of sunny France, lie north of 
the extreme northern boundary of Montana. 



MONTANA. 211 



THE CLIMATE 

is unexceptionable. It would be a broad sweep to claim that it is the best 
in the United States, but many citizens claim as much for it, and indeed, 
according to their liking, they are not idle in their belief. There are cold 
snaps — that is, old Fahrenheit registers the cold at ten to twenty degrees 
below zero. Yet there is something here, as in all Rocky Mountain re- 
gions, that tempers the cold to poor humanity — the rarity and the diyness 
of the atmosphere, it is said — and one suifers vastly less during the winter 
season than he would in the Middle States; besides, these extremes in 
temperature are infrequent, and last winter, being unusually severe, reg- 
istered scarcely a day at fifteen degrees below, with very few days at all 
below. Summer is never sultry or hot, while the U. S. Signal Office at 
Fort Benton revealed one hundred more clear days during the last year 
than were observed at Chicago. With very little severity and infrequent 
extremes, the weather still has variety enough to prevent complaints of 
it on that score. Naturally, all concede this 

A HEALTHY REGION; 

and such it indisputably is. Notwithstanding theoretical arguments 
against the Rocky Mountain region as a resort for lung diseases, we can 
positively aver that all lung affections wherein there is no undue loss 
of capacity are universally benefited in Montana. Asthma or hay fever 
there is none, though some persons may confound advanced emphyzema 
with such. For latent or threatened consumption there is unimpeachable 
evidence in its favor. The rector of St. Peter's church, Helena, gives in 
his record of interments the cause of death, and in twenty-six cases, his 
whole service in the Territory, there was but one death by consumption. 
Malaria cannot exist here, even though men bring it implanted in every 
bone. 

The Missouri River is thoroughly open near Helena a month earlier 
each spring than at Omaha, with almost unfailing regularity, and signal- 
service and private observations demonstrate the fact that the mean annual 
temperature of Helena is the same as that at Santa Fe, New Mexico, the 
latter being some eight hundred and fifty miles south of Montana's 
capital. 

It is hardly necessary to state that the extreme of heat is never known 
in all this great mountain-land. The nights, always cool, are proverbial 
for their absence of disagreeable dews and damps. In the higher moun- 
tain-ranges the winters are of course more rigorous, the snowfall far ex- 



212 THE GREAT WEST. 

ceeding that in the valleys and the weather sometimes growing intensely- 
cold. 

As a resort for invalids and for those constitutionally deformed we can 
commend Montana just as heartily. Innumerable springs — mineral 
springs, hot springs, sulphur springs — are scattered about, and so situated 
that patients can have their choice. That there is virtue in these springs 
for certain ills, such as are visited upon mankind by the sins of their 
fathers — for constitutional diseases generally — is beyond dispute. 

NATURAL SCENERY. 

The tourist, the pleasure-seeker, the scientist, all will find as happy a 
friend in Montana as the combination dare hope for in the wide world. 
In the heart of Montana, four thousand miles from the sea, the Missouri 
River presents such distinctive features of wildness, grandeur, and beauty 
as are hardly dreamed of by those witnessing its murky and treacherous 
meanderings through the prairie States. Here clear as crystal, alive with 
trout, embowered in beautiful pine-forests, the average citizen of Omaha 
would never believe it the miserable eyesore he left down there, tearing 
away Iowa and Nebraska counties so unmercifully. Entering Montana 
from the south, vid the Union Pacific and Utah and Northern Railroads, 
the tourist hardly crosses the line ere objects of interest to the purely 
aesthetic taste plead for attention right and left. Then he may wander 
all over this marvellously beautiful domain — from the Bad Land region 
of the lower Missouri and Yellowstone at the extreme east to the grandly- 
rugged and often iridescent summits of the Bitter Root range at the 
western boundary — and at the close confess in his bewilderment that 
Nature charmed so irresistibly at different steps it would be difficult to 
determine which spot to favor in a second ramble. 

YELLOWSTONE PARK. 

The Yellowstone, its great falls and grand canons, its enchanting scenery 
and wild rapids, is renowned the world over. The National Park en- 
chanted land, its lakes and mounts and geysers, " with its variety of 
phenomena so vastly excelling anything of the kind elsewhere that com- 
parisons are almost ridiculous," is only bordering Montana, but is the 
Montanians' summer-resort, watering-place, picnic-ground. To the 
sporting man we have only to announce everything in his field, from 
the mountain-lion down to the jack-rabbit, from the wild-goose to the 
sage-hen, from the mammoth salmon to the brook-trout. The rifle, the 
fowling-piece, and the fly can be utilized on the same excursion. 



MONTANA. 213 



AGRICULTURE. 



Abounding in noble rivers and possessing the best valley-system to be 
found in the entire Rocky Mountain plateau, Montana also offers many 
inducements to the agriculturist. Aside from the Missouri, Yellowstone, 
and Upper Columbia — each navigable and possessing thrice the volume 
of the Ohio at Pittsburg — there are within her boundaries a dozen rivers 
presenting features of size and beauty hardly excelled by the finest in 
New York and Pennsylvania. Among these are the Madison, Gallatin, 
Jefferson, Bitter Root, Beaver Head, Hell Gate, Musselshell, and Flat- 
head, their valleys ranging in length from one hundred to two hundred 
miles, and in width from two to twenty miles. Add to these the nearly 
numberless lateral streams which beautify almost every ravine and valley, 
and one finds here unlimited water-power and inexhaustible supplies of 
water for irrigation. 

Montana Territory was once known to the world as a rich placer- 
mining country, but, far away from centres of trade and highways of 
travel, its great resources lying beyond its gold were unobserved. Those 
early days saw flour sell at one hundred dollars per sack, while the present 
demonstrates that it was then, and is now, the best wheat district in the 
Union. There are well-authenticated cases of enormous yields ; among 
which are these : One field of twenty acres yielded eighty-two bushels 
per acre ; one lot of a number of acres gave one hundred bushels per 
acre ; and one single acre in one instance produced one hundred and twelve 
bushels. Oats and barley yield almost proportionately with wheat, while 
vegetables are grown quite beyond anything observed in a long experience 
in the East. 

BIG POTATOES. 

General Brisbin, commandant at Fort Ellis, gives statistics of twenty- 
seven acres of vegetables cultivated by soldiers, which at the prevailing 
prices in Montana amounted to over seven thousand dollars. This last 
season, he says, the yield has been one-third greater. At the Helena Fair 
were exhibited potatoes that weighed four pounds each, rutabagas that 
weighed seventeen pounds each, and turnips one of which weighed forty- 
two pounds. 

Farms that yield crops as above are worth from five to twenty-five 
dollars per acre, depending upon the means to market and upon the im- 
provements ; but good land may still be had much cheaper, and near 
enough to market, through the various land acts. Under the Desert 



214 THE GREAT WEST. 

Land Act a settler is allowed six hundred and forty acres anywhere in 
Montana by paying one-fourth of a dollar per acre on possession, by dig- 
ging an irrigating-ditch through it within three years, and by paying one 
dollar per acre by the end of that period. Besides, he is allowed the 
tract subject to exemption laws in existence elsewhere. Considering the 
vast extent of territory, no one need entertain a fear that the choicest acres 
are already located, or that they will be too soon for him who has a long 
way to come. 

Besides all the hardy cereals and vegetables, which are produced in 
great abundance in the inhabited valleys, we find some farms in the 
Bitter Root and other sunny basins where apples, plums, grapes, cherries, 
pears, nearly all small fruits, melons, tomatoes, and even tobacco and pe- 
cans, are among productions which indicate a not very forbidding clime. 
Irrigation is considered necessary in most localities, although some large 
crops were raised this year without it. This is an expense of about fifty 
cents per annum per acre. 

STOCK-RAISING. 

As a stock-raising section Montana is rapidly becoming known to the 
outside world. Its beef-cattle are the best sent to the Eastern markets 
from the grazing-regions, and bring the best prices. It is acknowledged 
the best grazing-land in the world. Cattle live and increase without a 
shelter other than the broad canopy of the heavens, or food provided ex- 
cept as it grows and is left for them spread over the great hills and plains 
they make their homes. Sheep and horses roam through the severest 
winter, exposed to the climate, compelled to live entirely by grazing. 
Nothing is expended for them save the services of a herder, who keeps a 
general survey of the range. Matured steers sell readily at the ranch at 
an average of twenty-five dollars per head. Marketing them consists of 
driving, during the summer, south through Wyoming to the Union Pa- 
cific ; thence to Chicago by rail. Sheep are worth from two and a half 
to three dollars per head. The estimates on sheep-raising are that the 
expense is equal to the wool-product, leaving the increase of flock as 
profit ! Wool is standard at twenty cents per pound. There are no 
fatal diseases in the Territory to which sheep are subject ; the only af- 
fliction among them is scab, a curable affection. Can we demonstrate 
anything plainer to the reader than that a few thousand dollars invested 
by him who will endure an outdoor life, and a lone one, in stock-raising 
here, must inevitably make him independent in a few short years? Last 
winter was the severest within the past fifteen years, and yet the loss of 



MONTANA. 215 

stock was little, if any, above the average loss — from two to three per 
cent. 

VAST PASTURES, DETAILS OF THE BUSINESS, ETC. 

There are 38,000,000 acres of grazing-lands, and of these not 10,000,000 
have yet been occupied. Heifers produce at two years of age, and the 
winters are so mild that not one calf in ninety dies. It is unnecessary 
to put up any hay for stock in winter. It can run out every month 
in the year. The increase of sheep is one hundred lambs to every hun- 
dred ewes, and ninety per cent, of the lambs live. The produce of wool 
is immense, and four to eight pounds of fleece are cut. About 350,000 
head of cattle are now owned in Montana, 250,000 head of sheep, 40,000 
head of horses, 3000 head of mules, and 10,000 head of hogs. Poultry 
is very scarce, and turkeys sell for three dollars apiece, chickens from fifty 
cents to one dollar each. During 1879 over 50,000 head of cattle were 
driven out of the Territory for beef, and 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 pounds 
of wool shipped. Sheep yield from thirty to forty per cent, profit, and 
horses from twenty to thirty per cent. The loss in sheep is one to, one 
and a half per cent., and horses two per cent, per annum. Yearling 
steers in Montana bring seven to ten dollars ; two-year olds, twelve to 
twenty dollars ; three-year olds, twenty to twenty-five dollars, and four- 
year olds, twenty-five to thirty-five dollars. Cows are worth ten to forty 
dollars, according to their quality. Common sheep are worth two to three 
dollars, and graded four to five dollars. 

DAIRYING, POULTRY, ETC. 

Climate, pasturage, water, and an unequalled market for dairy products 
combine to render dairying one of the most lucrative pursuits. Cows 
cost not a dollar for their keeping from one year's end to another, and 
the product of butter and cheese is by some figured a clear gain, as the 
increase in stock pays all expenses. The dairymen are numerous in Mon- 
tana who commenced five or six years ago with rented cows, and no cap- 
ital but willing hands. To our personal knowledge, a large portion of 
them are possessed of good ranches, and worth from five to ten thousand 
dollars each, all made by good, honest labor in the corral and milk-house. 
Over one million pounds of butter and cheese were produced in the Ter- 
ritory in 1878, and the average prices obtained were forty cents per pound 
for butter and seventeen cents per pound for cheese. The demands for 
products of the dairy were never harder to meet than during the past 
winter, and those who embark in this industry now can duplicate the ex- 



216 THE GREAT WEST. 

perience of the pioneers with almost absolute certainty. It is almost im- 
possible to secure eggs or poultry at any price, while no climate could be 
better for the production of the feathered tribe than this. 

The average farmer here soon works into the ownership of a nice herd 
of stock, gets independent of ordinary farm-drudgery, as he calls it, and 
leaves hundreds of openings for the diversified industry of the Missis- 
sippi or Missouri Valley. It is these small items of the dairy, the hen- 
nery, and the truck-patch which hold out the highest inducements to in- 
dustry, and are yet the most available for poor home-seekers. Many 
dairymen are going out of the business, simply because their rapidly-in- 
creasing herds will support them handsomely without work. 

PRICES OF PRODUCTS. 

The following are the prices paid last winter to ranchmen in Montana 
cities for the offerings of the farm and dairy : Wheat, 2 cents per pound ; 
oats, 2£ cents; hay, $10 to $12 per ton; potatoes, 1| cents per pound; 
onions, 5 cents ; squashes, 4 cents ; cabbages, 6 cents ; butter, 45 cents ; 
eggs, 75 to 90 cents per dozen ; turkeys, $3 to $5 each ; chickens, $6 to 
$7 per dozen. 

GETTING HOMES. 

It should be borne in mind that the above prices were obtained for 
productions of lands which have cost practically nothing but their im- 
provements; homestead laws apply here as elsewhere. In few of the 
valleys are one-fourth of the desirable lands taken ; in fact, only 400,000 
acres of the vast agricultural area outlined above are accounted for on 
the tax-lists. Montana is clearly an empire of itself that offers homes 
and support for millions of the landless toilers of the crowded East. 

Nearly all Montana pioneers first built good, comfortable log houses 
at almost no expense but their own labor. This also applies to fencing 
and other improvements. Forests being adjacent to nearly all the valleys, 
the situation remains unchanged to-day, and the man with muscle, and 
will to exert it, can build for himself a home — better than his forefathers 
enjoyed in New England — at less expense than in any Eastern or prairie 
State we know of. Improved farms are very cheap in all the valleys, 
when their wonderful productiveness and unequalled market are taken 
in consideration. They can be purchased well fenced, with fair buildings 
and the necessary ditches and water-rights, for from fifteen to twenty-five 
dollars per acre. 



MONTANA. 217 



MINING. 



Mining gold and silver is now, as it ever has been, the chief industry 
of Montana, though it differs vastly in all particulars from the days 
when Virginia City and Alder Gulch were notorious. Placer-: 



mimne 



.-> 



with the quarrelling, killing, and hanging attending the excitement of 
rich pans, big pockets, and marvellous finds, has almost entirely given 
way to quartz-mining, with its attending life, sober, lawful industry, with 
only the confusion and uproar of the stamp-mill and smelting-furnaces. 
Mining has indeed been revolutionized, and while the yield of gold has 
much lessened, it has resolved itself into a legitimate, steady business, 
through which the Territory is vastly the gainer. With it all there is, 
within the last year, a reaction in favor of an increased yield, which 
promises much. In 1877 the amount of gold and silver produced was 
$3,500,000, compared to $6,700,000 for 1878, and about $8,000,000 this 
year. Some of the best quartz-mines of the Territory reach the following 
amounts : The Lexington, near Butte City, last year produced $240,000 ; 
the Alice Mine, same place, yielded during the summer $45,000 per 
month ; the Phillipsburg Mine yielded $300,000 last year ; the Penobscot, 
twenty miles from Helena, yielded $500,000 during the year ; the Whit- 
lach Union has had a total yield of $3,500,000. 

The total yield of the precious metals in Montana during the past six- 
teen years has been $153,000,000 — more than that of Colorado, Utah, 
and Idaho combined. About $147,000,000 of this is gold, placing Mon- 
tana only second to California in the production of that metal. The 
fifty-thousand-dollar gold brick of tile Penobscot Mine, near Helena, a 
product of thirty days during the past season, startled readers all over 
the Union. 

Ores containing from twenty to sixty per cent, copper, unlimited in 
quantity, are found in several districts. There have been on exhibition 
at Helena ores from forty-eight different iron-mines or deposits, running 
in value from twenty-five to eighty per cent, iron, and representing every 
conceivable variety of ore. An iron-mountain in Deer Lodge county, 
larger than the famous deposit of Missouri, averages thirty per cent of 
that metal. Coal-beds lie within three miles, and an iron-furnace will be 
built this season. Professor Hay den and others estimate that from fifty 
to sixty-five thousand square miles of Montana's area are underlaid with 
coal. Several measures are yielding an excellent quality of fuel. Lead 
ores, averaging seventy-five per cent, of lead and a proportion of silver, 
are also frequent. 



218 THE GREAT WEST. 

BUSINESS, WAGES, EXPENSES. 

The Territory affords fine opportunities for business-men of either large 
or moderate means who will be content with profits ranging from fifteen 
to twenty-five per cent, on capital invested. Money is rarely loaned on 
any kind of collateral at less than two per cent, per month interest, and 
from that to three and four per cent. Stock-men claim that they can 
well afford to borrow money at two per cent, per month, and bankers are 
of the opinion that the borrower in such cases makes as much as the 
lender. There has been only one business failure of any magnitude in 
Montana for years. Business is done generally on a cash basis, and 
Montana merchants rank among the highest in the country, according to 
commercial agencies. 

Montana has never, like some other Western sections, been flooded with 
labor. The cause is very apparent — from its distance from the railway, 
and the consequent expense and trouble incurred in getting there. The 
industrious machinist, carpenter, cook, or bricklayer gets higher wages 
there than the confidential bookkeeper of a representative Eastern busi- 
ness-house, and the farm-hand, laborer, or even herder, who scorns to 
work more than ten hours a day, commands more pay than the skilled 
workman in New York. Mechanics of all kinds command from $4.50 
to $7.50 per day. Unskilled labor receives never less than $3 a day. 
Prices of all necessaries (save meats and flour, which are often cheaper 
than in the East) are about twenty-five per cent, higher than in the Mid- 
dle States. Board and lodging at first-class hotels cost from $12 to $16 
per week ; at quite comfortable places of less pretension, from $7 to $10. 

Although 12,000,000 acres of Montana's area are covered with heavy 
pine forests, the high price of labor makes building material rather ex- 
pensive. Hough lumber sells at from $20 to $30 per 1000 feet; dressed 
finished lumber, matched flooring, etc., at from $40 to $50. Good two- 
horse teams can be bought in any of the agricultural districts at from 
$150 to $225 ; oxen, from $80 to $100 a yoke. Farming implements, 
wagons, etc. will average twenty-five per cent, higher than at points east 
of the Missouri. 

ABOUT THE TOWNS. 

Helena, the capital of Montana, is located in the central part of the 
Territory, and has a population of 5000 inhabitants. It has many fine 
public and private buildings, and employs a cash capital of $5,000,000. 
Virginia is in the southern part of the Territory, and has a population of 



MONTANA. 219 

1500. It is near the famous Alder Gulch, which still produces annually 
$500,000 in gold. Butte is a beautiful town, and already second to 
Helena. It has a population of 3000 souls. Bozeman is at the head of 
the famous Gallatin Valley, and is surrounded by the richest farming- 
region in the West. It has a population of 1000, and is rapidly increas- 
ing. Deer Lodge, Missoula, Bannack, Benton, Radersburg, Vestel, and 
Phillipsburg are also fine and growing towns. The Yellowstone Valley 
is in Montana, and has two towns — Miles City and Sherman. The popu- 
lation of the Territory is about 40,000; assessed valuation, $14,000,000. 
Yellowstone Valley is capable of sustaining twenty-five thousand farmers, 
and the settlements have just been founded. We have ridden up and 
down the valley several times, and its upper portion has few superiors in 
the United States. 

Montana has indeed a wonderful future before it, and we know of no 
place where the farmer, manufacturer, or professional man can enter with 
a greater assurance of prosperity. Telegraph-lines have already been 
established to many parts of the Territory, and there are four daily and 
ten weekly papers, giving all the news. The isolation of the Territory 
has heretofore prevented many persons from seeking it, but now that this 
rich and unknown land is connected with the outside world by railroads, 
it will soon be filled up and become a prosperous commonwealth. 

RAILROADS. 

Montana has always been far off — in miles, in time, in facilities for 
getting there — and it is not hard to comprehend that, rich as it is in re- 
sources, it is almost an outside world. At present, home-seekers can reach 
its boundary by rail. There is only one route available from all points 
and the year round — by the Union Pacific Railroad to Ogden, Utah, and 
north over the Utah and Northern Railway, 275 miles, to Beaver Canon, 
its present terminus ; thence to various points by daily stage. One can 
thus go to within a thirty-six-hour stage-ride of most Montana towns, 
and the Utah and Northern will undoubtedly be extended farther north- 
ward in the spring. The time from Omaha to Helena at present is less 
than five days, and the fare very reasonable, considering the distance. 

MONTANA POINTS 

are reached by Gilmer, Salisbury <fe Co.'s daily stages in from twenty- 
three to forty hours from Beaver Canon. The rates of fare now in force 
from Omaha to the most important places in Montana are given below, 



220 THE GREAT WEST. 

with the distances and stage-time from Beaver Cafion, present terminus 
of the Utah and Northern Railway : 

First Second ■p m -„_ Qr , 4 . Distance, Stage-time, 
Class. Class. ^ mi g ranl - miles, hours. 

Lovell's $100 $75 $45 118 23 

Virginia City 100 75 45 193 28 

Butte 100 75 45 208 32 

Deer Lodge 100 75 45 235 38 

Helena 100 75 45 245 40 

Holders of second-class and emigrant tickets, via Gilmer, Salisbury & 
Co.'s line, will be carried from the railway terminus to destination in 
covered mail-wagons — one hundred pounds of baggage free by rail ; forty 
pounds free by stage, on first-class ; fifty pounds free by wagon, on second- 
class and emigrant ; extra baggage on stage- and wagon-lines, fifteen cents 
per pound. Stages and wagons run daily. 

The travel to Montana is increasing wonderfully, and the through rail- 
route vid Omaha, Ogden, and the Utah Northern Railway, carries it, as 
it deserves to. In addition to the already splendid equipment of the 
stage-line between the Utah and Northern terminus and Montana cities, 
coaches that will carry thirty passengers have been ordered by Gilmer & 
Salisbury to run between those points, and will be put on the route this 
winter. 



B. F. POTTS, GOVERNOR OF MONTANA, SAYS: 
" The farmer, the miner, the merchant, the tradesman, and in short all 
classes of our people, are prosperous and contented. Capital yields satis- 
factory returns, and labor is liberally rewarded. 

" The Utah Northern Railroad, a branch of the Union Pacific Rail- 
road, has been built into the Territory during the present year. The 
completion of this road will enable the landless citizens of the Eastern 
States to reach Montana, where homes can be obtained more advantageously 
than in almost any section of the country." 



MONTANA. 221 

MINERAL RESOURCES. 

BY Z. L. WHITE. 



THE chief resources of Montana's mineral wealth have heretofore been 
her rich placers, which are estimated to have yielded about one 
hundred and forty million dollars' worth of gold-dust. The placer-ground 
in most of the gulches was originally worked over with pick and shovel 
at a time when wages were high and no one could afford to wash the 
gravel with very great care. Now much of this old ground has fallen 
into the hands of men who are able to spend large sums in new water- 
ditches and bed-rock flumes, enabling them by means of Chinese labor to 
work over by the hydraulic process and ground-sluicing not only the old 
tailings, but also the " lean " ground that was left before. Besides this, 
some of the old gulches have never been worked out, and new ones are 
discovered almost every year. During the past summer there has been a 
stampede to the Judith Basin, where there are unquestionably good 
placers. The eastern portion of the Territory, which has only recently 
been opened, has never been thoroughly prospected, and new diggings 
will undoubtedly be discovered in many parts of it. I am therefore of 
opinion that although the product of the placers of Montana will not in 
the future be as great as it was in the first few seasons after the discovery 
of gold here, it will continue to be several millions a year for a long time 
to come. 

The gold quartz-mines of this Territory which have been developed 
are not very numerous, and have been operated with varying degrees of 
success. The Whitlach Union Mine, near Helena, after yielding three 
or four millions, has suspended. There is a division of opinion as to the 
cause of its present condition, some holding that it is due to bad mining 
and the failure to open new ground while the old was being stripped, and 
others declaring that the vein has been worked out. The Atlantic Cable, 
in Deer Lodge county, has been, and perhaps still is, a very promising 
mine, but has been involved in litigation for ten years, which has not 
only sucked the life-blood out of it, but prevented the investment of 
capital in its proper development, The mines in the Silver Creek dis- 
trict (the Lexington, Belmont, Hickey, and others) are excellent proper- 
ties, now producing about fifty thousand dollars a month, with a prob- 
ability of an increase. The Lexington, the largest and best known is* 



222 THE GREAT WEST. 

the district, will probably begin to pay dividends at the opening of the 
new year, but whether it will be able to pay high rates of interest on the 
enormous price at which the mine was bought and the cost of the expen- 
sive improvements that have been necessary, remains to be proved. I have 
no doubt that its monthly product will be a large and increasing one. I 
think there are some excellent openings for the investment of capital in 
gold quartz-mines in Montana, but in order to ensure success it ought to 
be associated with the best and most experienced mining skill. New leads 
are constantly being discovered, and some of them will undoubtedly be 
developed into good mines. 

The two successful silver camps in this Territory to-day are Butte 
and Glendale. The former, I believe, will offer unrivalled inducements 
to capital and enterprise, and I look to see it become one of the " boom- 
ing " camps of the West. At Phillipsburg and Wickes preparations are 
being made for the mining and milling of large quantities of ore, and 
the former of these camps is now sending some silver bars to market. 
There are hundreds of silver-mines in Montana that are only waiting for 
the advent of capital and cheap transportation to be converted into first- 
class properties. 

It is unnecessary to warn Eastern people against wild-cat schemes. No 
man or company can afford to expend capital in the purchase and develop- 
ment of a mine and in the erection of reduction-works until the property 
has been examined and reported favorably upon by a competent, disinter- 
ested expert. A disregard of this fundamental rule has been the cause 
of more than one disastrous failure in Montana. A wild-cat scheme 
cannot be foisted upon capitalists if proper precautions are taken ; if 
they are neglected, mining operations become lotteries in which one 
may draw a prize, but is very much more likely to get a blank. 

The reduction of silver ores is a process requiring a knowledge of 
chemistry and metallurgy, and practical experience in the application 
of scientific principles to the treatment of different kinds of rock. The 
failure of the Montana Company at Jefferson a year ago was confessedly 
due to a neglect to observe this axiomatic rule. Other silver-mining 
enterprises in this Territory have failed for the same reason. The losses 
incurred in these cases will probably serve as a warning to those who 
inaugurate new enterprises in the future. 

Mining as a legitimate business has been brought into discredit in 
Montana, as in other Territories, by the dishonest management of some 
officers and superintendents. Mining is no longer a legitimate enterprise, 
but an outrageous swindle, when it is managed for the purpose of raising 



MONTANA. 223 

or depressing the value of the stock in the interest of a clique of specu- 
lators ; and yet too many concerns are operated in this way. If it is 
desired to bull the stock, it is very easy for a superintendent to strip his 
mine of the ore that has been made accessible by previous development- 
work, thus greatly increasing the product for a few months without 
increasing the working expenses. In the same way a cotton-manufac- 
turer in New England might divide among his stockholders all the 
money he received for his fabrics, without retaining any with which 
to purchase fresh material or to keep his machinery in order. A time 
would soon come when he would either have to make an assessment 
upon his stockholders, borrow money, or stop, but in the mean time, if 
his method was kept secret, the price of his stock might be enormously 
advanced. 

On the other hand, a superintendent may keep his entire force at work 
for months in sinking new shafts and driving new levels without pro- 
ducing ore, until a number of dividends have been passed and the stock 
is greatly depreciated, although the mine may be growing better and 
better all the time. It is as though the manager of the cotton-mill 
should go on month after month spending his entire receipts for new 
material, secretly piling it up in his storehouse, and reporting no profits. 
I could name good mines in Montana that have been ruined by this sort 
of management. For a few months they have paid large dividends, and 
the stockholders have supposed they owned a bonanza. But all at once 
production has stopped, there has been no ore in sight, and the mine 
must close unless money to pay current expenses is obtained either by 
an assessment or by a loan. Honest people will do well to give a wide 
berth to any company whose stock is suspected of being the football of 
speculators. The richest bonanza in the country cannot make such an 
enterprise a safe one to invest in. 

The revival of popular interest in gold- and silver-mining has 
caused the owners of undeveloped properties, and even investors in the 
East, to have an exaggerated estimate of the value of mines and pros- 
pect-holes. It is an axiom among conservative miners that no mine is 
worth more than the actual value of the ore in sight. Even then the 
purchaser takes the risk of finding enough new ore to pay for the expense 
of taking it out and the interest on his money invested. This is a pretty 
safe rule to be governed by in making purchases. Thoroughly-developed 
mines on strong, well-defined veins are undoubtedly in many instances 
worth much more than the value of the ore in sight, but in a new mine 
the man who buys ore in posse gambles on an uncertainty. 



224 THE GREAT WEST. 

I do not wish, by anything I have said, to disparage the mines of 
Montana or throw discredit upon their management. I believe the 
mineral resources of this Territory to be wonderful in their extent and 
richness, and that the failures in mining enterprises have generally been 
due to lack of capital and experience and the isolation heretofore of 
Montana from the remainder of the country, rather than to dishonesty. 
At the same time, I have written what I believe every man in the East 
who thinks of investing in mines ought to know, and what he is not 
likely to learn except by spending a season among mines and miners, 
as I have done. 



STOCK-RAISING IN MONTANA. 



MONTANA is the best grazing-country in the world. I know that 
this is a bold assertion to make, but after seeing something during 
the past summer of the best cattle-ranges of Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, 
Dakota, Wyoming, and Utah, which States and Territories furnish so 
large a proportion of the beef consumed in this country, and talking with 
stock-men, army officers, and others whose acquaintance with the West is 
far more extensive than my own, and whose experience gives to their 
opinion great weight, I am certain that it is not an exaggeration. There 
may be portions of South America where cattle, sheep, and horses can be 
raised at less expense than in Montana, but there certainly is no part of 
the United States where the same grade of animals, ready for market, cost 
the ranchmen less money, while the price which they command is many 
times greater than in any of the Spanish- American republics, and but 
very little below that obtained in the less remote States and Territories 
this side of the Missouri River. ^ 

No one can spend a week in any part of Montana without hearing 
some of the most marvellous reports about the profits that have been 
realized during the last few years in the business of stock-raising in this 
Territory. These stories, many of which have reached the East recently 
in enthusiastic newspaper letters and pamphlets published in the interest 
of Western railroad companies, are true, so far as I have been able to 
verify them ; but while, as a rule, they relate only to the exceptionally 
successful ventures — -just as the wonderful yield of a bonanza-mine in a 



MONTANA. 225 

camp is heralded from one end of the country to the other, while the 
hundred prospect-holes which have been failures are never heard of — the 
unvarnished truth about the average profits of the business will seem al- 
most incredible to Eastern people. It is only now and then that a herd 
of cattle, sheep, or horses yields a net income of from forty to sixty, or 
even one hundred, per cent, per annum ; but I doubt if there is a single 
instance in which, taking a series of years together, the profits on stock- 
raising have not been from twenty to thirty per cent, on the original in- 
vestment; and that, too, in cases where the animals have suffered severely 
from unusual cold and snow in the winter or from disease. 

In the first place, the grass is better and more abundant than in any 
other of the Western States and Territories. In previous pages I have 
mentioned the fact that the bunch-grass grows not only all over the val- 
leys and the benches, but on the foot-hills, and even on many of the 
mountains themselves. The supply of it is inexhaustible. Even in the 
older settled portions of the Territory, where improved farms are frequent, 
often adjoining each other in the valleys, the cattle, sheep, and horses do 
not begin to eat down the grass, and although the ranges for several miles 
on each side of the valleys may be nominally taken up, they are still ca- 
pable of sustaining many times as many animals as now graze upon them. 
No one who intends to raise stock on a large scale or to make that his 
chief business would think of driving his animals to these particular 
hills near the settlements, but the farmers whose flocks and herds are 
now feeding upon them, and who want their cattle near at home, may 
increase the size of their herds almost indefinitely before there will be 
any scarcity of feed. 

But it is not in those portions of the Territory that have been longest 
settled that stock-raising is most profitable. The valley of the Yellow- 
stone River from near the National Park to its mouth is six hundred and 
fifty miles long, and on an average from ten to twelve miles wide. All 
of this land can be easily irrigated and placed under cultivation. Hun- 
dreds of families have settled there this year. On either side for almost 
the entire length of this valley are benches, foot-hills, and prairies cov- 
ered with bunch-grass and amply watered by small streams. Nor is this 
all. There flow into the Yellowstone from the south the Powder River, 
the Tongue River, Big Horn River, Clarke's Fork, and almost innumer- 
able smaller streams, the valley of each of which is from thirty to one 
hundred miles in length, and nearly every one affords as good pasturage 
as is to be found in the world. Nearly the whole of this country has 
been inaccessible until within the last eighteen months or two years, and 

15 



226 THE GREAT WEST. 

the tide of immigration has only just begun to flow in. A few herds of 
cattle have been driven into the valleys of all the streams I have named, 
but it is safe to say that there is not one steer there to-day where there 
is feed for a thousand. 

Even the extensive ranges that are more accessible are far from being 
occupied. Thousands of cattle have been driven this summer to the Sun 
River country and to the sparsely-settled sections north and north-east 
of Helena, and even there the ranges are so large that in riding over 
them one would have difficulty, except for the trails, to select the lands 
upon which the cattle have been feeding from those which have not been 
touched. I should not dare to make an estimate of the number of ani- 
mals that Montana can sustain, but I am perfectly safe in saying that 
hundreds can graze in her valleys and on her hills where now there is 
one, and that it will be many years before it will be possible for the stock 
to begin to be crowded. 

I said that the grass in this Territory is better than it is elsewhere. It 
is bunch-grass, that grows from one to two or three feet high. In most 
places the bunches stand close together, and cure early in the summer. 
In August and after, until the next spring, the grass has a color some- 
what similar to that of ripe wheat, although the yellow is not quite as 
bright, and the country looks like one vast field of grain nearly ready 
for the harvest. This grass is wonderfully sweet and nutritious. Cattle 
fatten upon it quicker and keep in better condition than those which feed 
on the blue-grass of Kentucky and South-western Virginia or the buffalo- 
grass of Nebraska and Colorado. The beef is remarkably sweet, tender, 
and juicy, as I can testify from having eaten of it every day for more 
than a month. The proprietor of the two most popular hotels in Salt 
Lake City also told me that Montana beef, of which he had occasionally 
obtained some, was far superior to any other he could get, and equal in 
quality to the best stall-fed beef in the East. The chief fault I have 
heard found with it both here and in Salt Lake has been that in summer 
it is too fat. In winter even cattle that are on sheltered ranges keep in 
excellent condition. 

Very few of the stock-men of Montana make any provisions for feed- 
ing their cattle in the winter, and there is no herding in the summer, as 
in Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming. Old cattle-owners say that a herd 
that is fed occasionally when a heavy storm comes will not winter as well 
as one that is not fed. The cattle which receive hay once are likely to 
remain in the immediate 'vicinity of the ranch, even after the feed there 
has become short, and if driven away will return. As it is impossible 



MONTANA. 227 

to feed them all the time, they grow lean, while if they stay out on the 
range, where the grazing is better, they will keep in good condition. 
The grass is stiff, and on the hillsides is rarely entirely covered with 
snow. The loss from exposure is said to be not more than one or two 
per cent. Whether there is force in this reasoning or not, it is certain 
that some of the most careful and most successful stock-men are begin- 
ning to put up hay as a precaution against severe cold and deep snows. 
They say that the cost of the hay, which is cut with machines in the 
natural meadows along the river-bottoms, is only from fifty cents to one 
dollar a ton, and that in the long run, by being prepared to feed their 
cattle a little in the winter if it is necessary, they save more than enough 
animals that would otherwise perish to pay for their trouble and expense. 

The customary way of managing a herd of cattle in Montana is simply 
to brand them and turn them out upon the range. Some stock-owners 
give no more attention to their cattle until the next spring, when they 
round them up, brand the calves, select those they intend to sell, and 
turn the remainder out again. Under this careless management they are 
sure to lose some steers, which stray away or are stolen. The more care- 
ful managers employ one man for every fifteen hundred or two thousand 
head of cattle, whose duty it is to ride about the outskirts of the range, 
follow any trails leading away and drive the cattle back, and to go among 
neighboring herds, if there are any, looking for stray animals and driving 
them home. At the spring round-up a few extra men have to be em- 
ployed for several weeks. 

In starting a new herd, cows, bulls, and yearlings are bought. The 
older cattle of ordinary grade (they are all American — no long-horned 
Texans) cost from fifteen to twenty-five dollars a head, the calves under 
one year old running with the herd not being counted. Yearlings may 
be obtained for from five to seven dollars each. The average cost of 
raising a steer, not counting interest on capital invested, is from sixty 
cents to one dollar a year, so that a four-year-old steer raised from a calf 
and ready for market costs about four dollars. He is worth, on the 
ranch, about twenty dollars, and if driven to Fort Benton or to the rail- 
road in Wyoming, at least twenty-five dollars. A herd consisting of 
yearlings, cows, and bulls will have no steers ready for the market in less 
than two or three years. Taking into account the loss of interest on 
capital invested before returns are received, all expenses, and ordinary 
losses, the average profit of raising cattle in Montana during the last few 
years has been at least thirty per cent, per annum. Some well-informed 
cattle-men estimate it at forty to forty-five per cent. 



228 THE GREAT WEST. 

A large and increasing percentage of the cattle and sheep of Montana 
are owned by persons who do not manage them themselves, and some of 
whom do not reside in this Territory. Nearly all the leading merchants 
and bankers of Helena own interests in herds of stock, and lawyers, 
doctors, and Federal officers are following their example, and investing 
either their own money or that of their friends in the East in cattle, sheep, 
or horses. A man who desires to invest in stock, and who has not the 
time or inclination to attend to the business himself, takes as an associate 
some man of experience and integrity, but destitute of capital (of whom 
there are many in Montana), and gives him entire charge of the herd. 
This man selects the range, cuts the hay that is necessary, moves the 
animals when necessary, attends to the rounding-up, and drives those that 
are sold to the place of delivery, paying all expenses and being entirely 
responsible for the management of the business. For this he receives 
one-half of the increase of the herd, the man who furnishes the capital 
taking the other half. The returns which capitalists obtain on their money 
invested in this plan in a herd of cattle are never less than fifteen per cent., 
in a flock of sheep twenty per cent, and upward, and in a band of horses 
much greater than in either. 

A new plan for dividing the profits in this business between capitalists 
and managers has lately been suggested, and will probably be tried next 
year. The manager is to take the herd purchased with the money fur- 
nished by his partners — the latter retaining the title to the animals — find 
a suitable range, and pay all the expenses of the enterprise, until from 
the profits he has paid back to the investor a sum of money equal to that 
which he at first put in. Then the manager is to become the owner of 
one-third of the business and to receive thereafter one-third of the profits, 
the expenses being paid out of the receipts. It is proposed by responsible 
men in Montana to organize stock companies in the East for the purpose 
of conducting the cattle- and sheep-raising business on this plan, and, 
with ordinary precautions in the selection of a proper man to manage 
such an enterprise I can imagine no undertaking in which the security 
can be better or the certainty of large profits greater. 

The management of sheep is of course different from that of cattle. A 
flock of sheep containing one thousand and upward, in good condition and 
free from disease, may be bought here this season for three to three dollars 
and a quarter a head. They must be herded summer and winter in sep- 
arate flocks of not more than two or three thousand each, corralled every 
night, and guarded against the depredations of dogs and wild animals. 
Some hay must be provided with which to feed them when there are deep 



MONTANA. 229 

snows, and sheds ought to be erected to protect them from the most severe 
storms. Cattle and sheep cannot live together on the same range. The 
latter not only eat down the grass so closely that nothing is left for the 
cattle, but they also leave an odor which is very offensive to steers. 
Although the cost of managing sheep is greater than that of handling 
cattle, the returns are quicker and larger. While a herd of young cattle 
begins to yield an income only at the expiration of three years, sheep 
yield a crop of wool the first summer after they are driven upon a range, 
and the increase of the flock is much greater than that of cattle, being 
from seventy-five to one hundred per cent, a year. The wool is of good 
quality, free from burrs, not washed, and brings a good price on the 
ranch, the competition between buyers sent out here from Eastern cities 
to obtain it being very great. Many thousand sheep have been driven 
into this Territory this year from California, Oregon, and Washington 
Territory, and every flock that has arrived has been gobbled up by men 
eager to increase their flocks or to start new ones. 

It is not my purpose to mislead any reader by reciting the cases in 
which unusual profits have been realized in the business of stock-raising, 
but it may be interesting to know what has occasionally been done in 
cases where all the conditions have been favorable, just as we like to hear 
of the rich returns which bonanza-mines sometimes give. The following 
is an example : Judge Davenport of this Territory four years ago last 
July purchased one thousand ewes, which cost him in the neighborhood 
of three thousand dollars. These he put in charge of a young man, who 
was to take them on a range, care for them, pay all the expenses of the 
flock, and to receive as his share one-half the wool produced and one- 
half the increase of the flock. At the end of four years a settlement was 
to be made, and Judge Davenport was then to receive back one thousand 
of the best ewes which the flock contained. The settlement was made 
last July. In the mean time, Judge Davenport had received for his share 
of the proceeds of the wool $6500, and for his share of the increase 
$8000. The profits of his investment of $3000 for four years were, 
therefore, $14,500, or $3626 (or 121f per cent.) a year! During the 
same year other men made only fifty or sixty per cent, on their sheep, 
and some, who from inexperience or bad fortune met with heavy losses, 
perhaps not more than twenty-five per cent. ; but I have never heard of 
a single instance in which there has been an absolute loss in a period of, 
say, three or four years. One man, driving a large flock of sheep from 
the South a year or two ago, was caught by the winter in an unfavorable 
place and lost one-half or two-thirds of his flock, but at the end of three 



230 THE GREAT WEST. 

years, when he came to balance his books, he found that the remnant of 
his flock had done so well that his profits had been about twenty-five per 
cent, a year on his original investment. 

The number of cattle now in the Territory is estimated at 500,000, 
and the number of sheep 250,000. The wool-clip this year was about 
900,000 or 1,000,000 pounds, which sold, on an average, for twenty cents 
a pound. I have seen no estimate of the number of horses in Mon- 
tana, but I think there are only a few very large bands. Horses will 
endure the cold weather and get at the grass if it is covered by snow 
much better than cattle, but they are so much more valuable that most 
owners prefer to have their bands fenced in or herded pretty carefully. 
The best horse-farms are in valleys ten or twelve miles long, on the sides 
of which the foot-hills extend up to high mountains. By building a 
fence across each end of such a valley the horses are prevented from stray- 
ing from the range. The profits upon the rearing of horses and mules 
are very great, and there is a ready market for all that are offered. 

What I have written in this paper will undoubtedly prompt some one 
to ask, "Can any one from the East, with a capital of a few thousand 
dollars, go to Montana and engage successfully in the business of stock- 
raising?" No, unless he supplements his capital with experience, either 
of his own or of some one with whom he associates himself. A man 
reared in an Eastern city or town to professional, mercantile, or manufac- 
turing pursuits would be as helpless with a herd of several thousand 
head of stock on his hands as a Western ranchman would be in a cotton- 
mill. But with an experienced partner even a city man would soon 
learn the business. 

The first thing to be done in entering the stock business is to select a 
good range, and to do this requires a pretty thorough knowledge of the 
country and of what constitutes a desirable location. Foot-hills from 
which the snow will be likely to blow oif, exposing the bunch-grass, good 
water, canons in which the animals may seek shelter from storms, and 
natural meadows if hay is to be cut, are all considered essential. The 
greater the distance from other ranges, the less trouble there will be from 
the mixture of the animals of other herds and the less the expense of 
rounding-up. Of course the ranges are all government land, to which 
no title can be obtained, but the right of the first occupant to the land he 
uses is universally recognized. 

Cattle and sheep are subject to diseases which the herder must know 
how to treat. Young cattle, yearlings, and two-year-old steers have suf- 
fered severely in some parts of Montana this year from the " black leg," 



MONTANA. 231 

a congestive disease, which has destroyed from one to two or three per 
cent, of the flocks on some ranges, and greatly alarmed the owners. The 
cause of this distemper is not known, but it has proved fatal in every 
case. The disease known as scab has been brought into Montana by 
sheep from California, Oregon, and Washington Territory, and it has 
been spread among many of the flocks that before were healthy. This 
disease can be cured by proper treatment, but the losses from it have been 
considerable. 

In conclusion, I can only repeat what I have already said — that Mon- 
tana is the best grazing-country in the United States ; that stock-raising 
here, when intelligently conducted, is a safer business and more profitable 
than any other I know of; and that more people are going into the busi- 
ness and investing more capital in it than are turning their attention to 
any other of the industries of the Territory. 



HINTS TO MEN WITHOUT CAPITAL. 



THERE are room enough and work enough in Montana for all the 
people who may desire to make it their home for years to come, 
and who are willing at the same time to forego for a season a few of the 
luxuries which make life in the older States so attractive, and to adapt 
themselves meanwhile to the conditions which they will find existing 
here. I have written very briefly about the grazing and agricultural 
resources of the Territory. They are simply wonderful, and in their 
development offer to thousands of people from the East the opportunities 
for gaining a competency, if not a fortune. The remoteness of Montana, 
not only from the Eastern States, but from the lines of railroad which 
connect the other far Western States and Territories with them, has thus 
far been a barrier against a large immigration into its beautiful valleys. 
Men will go to the ends of the earth in search of the precious metals ; 
they will deny themselves all the comforts of life, defy savages and wild 
beasts, and face dangers before which almost any other class of people 
would turn back. But the farmer who intends to make his home on the 
land which he reclaims and cultivates (the prospector or miner is only a 
bird of passage, who always calls his home " a camp " even after it has 
become a solid, permanent town) must have a certain degree of security 
for himself and family and a market for his surplus products. 



232 THE GREAT WEST. 

The farmers of Montana have, as a rule, been hardy fellows, fond of 
adventure, who have established themselves near the military posts and 
successful mining camps or along the great lines of travel, and very many 
of them have lived as the miners and prospectors do, without families or 
the comforts and refinements which the presence of women only can give. 
All this is now changing. People are hearing about the wonderful nat- 
ural resources of the Territory, and are seeking new homes here, intending 
to make Montana their permanent residence. Any one who has capital 
needs no suggestion in regard to settlement in these valleys of the Rocky 
Mountains. He has the means of learning where the best lands are, and 
how to obtain them, and he can make a personal inspection of the coun- 
try, and, if he desires, purchase an improved farm. With a poor man it 
is different, and it is for the benefit of this class that I desire to give a few 
hints. 

The cost of reaching Helena from any of the Atlantic States is a little 
more than one hundred dollars. To make the journey for this sum one 
must travel in emigrant-trains to the terminus of the railroad, and thence 
to Helena by the " fast freight " line ; that is, in ordinary farm-wagons 
with spring seats and canvas covers. The journey from New York will 
occupy between two and three weeks. In addition to the fare, the trav- 
eller has, of course, to supply his own provisions, and unless he sleeps 
out of doors in his blankets his bed will cost him fifty cents a night on 
the wagon-journey. The expense of reaching Montana by first-class 
trains and in the stage-coaches will of course be considerably greater. 

A man who comes to this Territory early in the spring will have no 
trouble in securing employment on a ranche at the rate of from thirty to 
forty dollars a month and board. One season's work on a Montana farm 
gives a stranger an opportunity to become acquainted with the methods 
of cultivation prevalent here, and to look about for a place on which to 
settle. I have seen several men who have come here from the East, leav- 
ing their families at their old homes ; they found immediate employment, 
have taken up during the first season a quarter section of land, and put 
up a house for the shelter of their wives and children on their arrival. 
I met on the stage-road one day a family consisting of a mother, a daugh- 
ter about fourteen years of age, and three smaller children, who were 
making the journey alone from one of the counties of Central New York 
to the Jefferson Valley in this Territory. The lady told me that her 
husband and son had come to Montana last year, and had found employ- 
ment on neighboring ranches. In the spring they sent for the eldest 
daughter, who had, since her arrival, been engaged in teaching school, 



MONTANA. 233 

and last month the remainder of the family when I met them were on 
their way to their new home. 

When a man has become sufficiently established on his new ranche to 
have raised one crop of wheat or oats and to have got a few head of stock, 
he need have no fear for the future. Patient industry brings swift and 
great rewards. In going to Phillipsburg a week or two ago I rode twen- 
ty-five miles with a Scotchman who has a farm in Deer Lodge county, 
near New Chicago. He told me that he had taken up one hundred and 
sixty acres of land about four years ago. At the time he had no capital, 
but was master of a good trade — that of a carpenter — and had two sons 
old enough to assist in the farm-work. The old gentleman had worked 
several months each year at his trade, earning five dollars a day, " And," 
he said, " I hardly know how it came about, but we have to-day a finely- 
improved farm, a good house, about fifty head of cattle, and seven good 
horses, five of them good Americans three years old. I have spent very 
little money for stock, and all that we have is the result of only four 
years' work. We sell enough butter, chickens, and eggs to pay our gro- 
cery-bills, and are now saving some money, besides what goes to improve 
our place. I have been twenty years in the Western States, and I have 
never seen a place where a poor man can get a start as easily as here." 

A stranger who desires to work into the stock-raising business will 
find in Montana opportunities to do so, even though he may not have 
capital to invest in sheep or cattle. One who has been accustomed to the 
care of stock in other sections of the country will, of course, get better 
wages on the ranges than one who is totally unacquainted with the bus- 
iness ; but so many new herds of cattle and sheep will be driven out 
upon new ranges next spring that any one who is willing to work and 
anxious to learn will have no difficulty in obtaining employment. In 
Colorado and Nebraska a man working by the month with a " cord out- 
fit," as a herd is called there, has the privilege of having a few cattle of 
his own on his employer's range, and the same arrangement could un- 
doubtedly be made here. The profits of stock-raising have been so great 
in Montana that almost all business-men here, as well as many who have 
never seen the Territory, are anxious to invest some money in it, while 
many of them do not desire to manage the flocks or herds themselves. 
There are, therefore, numerous opportunities for responsible men, known 
to be experienced in the care of sheep and cattle and honest in their deal- 
ings, to become partners in the stock-raising business with the investment 
of little or no capital. If one man furnishes all the money and another 
takes the entire care and management of a stock of sheep or cattle, it is 



234 THE GREAT WEST. 

customary to divide the annual increase and the wool that is cut from the 
sheep equally between the two. Some of the most successful stock-men 
in Montana have got their start by taking flocks and herds to manage on 
such terms as I have described. 

Of course, farming and stock-raising in Montana are subject to the 
same vicissitudes which sometimes cause failure elsewhere. A farm that 
is properly irrigated will never suffer from drouth, but the grasshoppers 
may sometimes injure or destroy the crops, and other noxious insects may 
appear, as they do in the older States. So, also, disease may appear 
among animals, or some of them may perish during an unusually severe 
winter ; but these are risks which have to be taken everywhere, and are 
no greater here than in any other new country. 

Skilled mechanics are in great demand in Montana. Carpenters earn 
five dollars a day, and many more could have found employment in He- 
lena and about the principal mining camps during the past summer if they 
had been here. I have known of several instances in which important 
building operations were delayed because carpenters could not be obtained. 
In Helena and Butte bricklayers and stonemasons have no trouble in find- 
ing employment, but in most of the other towns the buildings are all of 
wood. Good blacksmiths find plenty of work, not only in the towns, but 
at the mines, every one of which is obliged to employ several when in 
operation. Almost all of the machinery in Montana is built in the East, 
so that there is as yet little work here for moulders and machinists. A 
few engineers are needed at every large mine, and one or two machinists 
are employed to make small repairs on pumps, hoisting-machinery, and 
mill-work. Skilled miners earn from three to four dollars a day, the latter 
price being paid only to those who work in wet or dangerous places; and 
common, unskilled laborers are paid from two and a half to three dollars a 
day. Nobody is idle who is willing to work, and tramps and beggars 
are unknown. 

Perhaps there is no want that is as keenly felt in Montana as that of 
good domestic help. A few years ago good house-servants, cooks, were 
paid sixty dollars per month, and even now a white girl who knows how 
to do housework receives from twenty-five to forty dollars a month — the 
former of these rates being paid only to servants of a very inferior kind. 
Both in Helena and Butte it is generally impossible to obtain white ser- 
vants at any price, and the greater part of the housework in families is 
performed by Chinamen, who receive, on an average, about thirty dollars 
a month. The early settlers of Montana were exclusively men who were 
hunting for gold, and never expected to remain in the Territory after the 



MONTANA. 235 

mines first discovered failed to pay. When the population began to be- 
come permanent the few who had families sent for them, but the majority 
were unmarried men who had no families. For the last fifteen years, too, 
Montana has been so remote that comparatively few women have come 
here expecting to go out to service in families, and those who have come 
have almost invariably been married within a few months after their 
arrival. 

Some of the experiences of young women who have been brought to 
Montana in the capacity of servants have been very amusing. A lady 
who brought a maid from Chicago two or three years ago told me that 
the young woman had five offers of marriage while travelling a week on 
a stage-coach between Corinne and Helena, part of them from passengers 
and part from stage-drivers. I have no doubt that several hundred good 
servants could now find employment in Helena, Butte, and other towns 
at the wages I have named, and that the majority of them would find good 
husbands within a year if they wished to marry. 

The professions seem generally to be well filled in Montana, and clerk- 
ships in stores or offices are not very plenty. I have heard less about 
mining litigation in Montana than in any other place where mining opera- 
tions are going on, and the lawyers, while in most cases making a living, 
are probably able to attend to all the business that offers. A few good 
physicians might make an opening for themselves here, and as the popu- 
lation increases their practice would of course become greater. Montana 
has many good schools, and they are generally in the hands of competent 
teachers, who are engaged in the States. There are frequent changes 
among the lady-teachers, because a large proportion of the whole corps in 
the Territory is married every year. 

The merchants of Montana are, almost without exception, men of con- 
siderable capital. Until this year no one else could do business here, be- 
cause the freight-lines were all closed in the winter, and it was necessary 
to carry a stock of goods large enough to last about nine months. Now 
that the Utah and Northern Railroad will be opened across the mountains 
next month, goods can be imported every month in the year, but as 
freights will always be higher during the season when the Missouri River 
is closed, merchants Mall continue to purchase goods during the spring 
and summer in sufficient quantities to last until the next summer, and 
will be able to undersell those who purchase in smaller quantities and pay 
higher rates for transportation. 

The tide of immigration into this Territory has already received a new 
impetus, and next year a large increase of population is expected. 



236 THE GREAT WEST. 



DISTANCES, TIME, FAKE, BAGGAGE ALLOWED, 
EXTRA BAGGAGE, AND HOUSEHOLD GOODS. 



FARES FROM OMAHA. 

THE fares to Lovell's, Virginia City, Butte, Deer Lodge, Helena, and 
other central points in Montana are as follows : First class, $100 ; 
second class, $75 ; emigrant, $45. On the cars children five years old 
and under twelve, half fare in any of these classes ; under five years old, 
free ; on stages children under twelve and over three years old, half fare ; 
under three, free. Passengers holding first-class tickets will be carried 
from the Utah and Northern Railway terminus by Gilmer, Salisbury & 
Co.'s stage-line with 40 pounds of baggage free. Holders of second-class 
and emigrant tickets will be transported from the Utah and North- 
ern terminus by Gilmer, Salisbury & Co.'s line of covered wagons — car- 
rying the United States mail — and will be allowed 50 pounds of bag- 
gage free. 

EXTRA BAGGAGE AND HOUSEHOLD GOODS. 

Extra baggage by stage or mail-wagon from the terminus of the Utah 
and Northern Railway to points named above will be charged fifteen 
cents per pound, but it may be forwarded by freight-wagons at a cost of 
from two to three cents, its transportation in this way, however, requiring 
considerably more time. Freights on household goods (well boxed) from 
Omaha to Utah and Northern Railway terminus, $4.05 per hundred 
pounds, or double that rate if carried in trunks. Freight rates from the 
railway terminus to Montana points above named are from $1.50 to $2.50 
per hundred pounds. 

Stages run day and night, making connections with Utah and Northern 
Railway trains daily. Mail-wagons also run daily. First-class eating- 
stations along the stage-road furnish meals or lunch at reasonable rates. 
Telegraphic stations are established at frequent intervals along the stage- 
road. All streams are well bridged, and the entire equipment of the 
stage-line is the finest in the West. The Utah and Northern Railway, 
completed to Beaver Canon, Idaho, 274 miles north of Ogden, in Sep- 
tember, 1879, is being rapidly extended northward into Montana. Unless 
winter opens unusually early, it will no doubt reach Red Rock, Montana, 
30 miles north of Beaver Canon, in December, 1879, reducing stage- 



MONTANA. 



237 



travel to the more distant points named below to thirty-six hours. Fol- 
lowing are the distances and the stage-time from Beaver Canon to the prin- 
cipal points, as well as rates of fare from Omaha in force November 1, 
1879: 





First Class. 


Second Class. 


Emigrant. 


Distance. 




Lovell's, Montana, 


$100 


$75 


$45 


118 miles. 


23 hours. 


V irginia City, " 


100 


75 


45 


193 " 


•28 '• 


Butte, " 


100 


75 


45 


208 " 


32 " 


Deer Lodge, " 


100 


75 


45 


235 " 


38 " 


Helena, 


100 


75 


45 


245 " 


40 " 



DISTANCES AND FARES IN THE TERRITORY. 

The following are carefully-compiled tables of distances from Helena, 
Deer Lodge, and other points to all stations in Montana, with stage-fares 
in effect in June, 1879. Stages on nearly all routes run daily, making an 
average of over one hundred miles in twenty-four hours : 



Route to Utah and Northern Railway- 
From Helena to— Miles. Fare. 

Clancy 18 $1 50 

Jefferson 22 2 00 

Whitehall 60 8 00 

Silver Star 85 12 00 



Gilmer <fc Salisbury Stages. 
From Helena to— Miles. 

Salisbury 90 

Virginia City 120 

Lovell's 135 

Railroad Terminus 294 



Deer Lodge, Butte, and Missoula Route- 
From Helena to— Miles. Fare. 

Sweetlands 25 $2 00 

Blackfoot 29 3 00 

Deer Lodge 45 6 00 

Butte, vid Deer Lodge .... 80 8 00 



From Helena to- 
Pioneer .... 



Gilmer & Salisbury Stages. 

Miles. 
... 61 

New Chicago 77 

Phillipsburg 102 

Missoula 150 



Fare. 

$13 00 

16 00 

20 00 



Fare. 
$8 00 
1100 
12 00 
17 00 



Deer Lodge and Lovell's Route— Gilmer & Salisbury Stages. 



From Deer Lorlge to- 
Warm Springs. . 
Silver Bow . . . 
Butte 



Miles. 
. 18 
. 35 
. 40 



Fare. 
$150 

2 00 

3 00 



From Deer Lodge to— Miles. 

Camp Creek 75 

Lovell's 115 

Eagle Bock 284 



Bozeman Route— H. F. Galen Stages. 
From Helena to — Miles. Fare. 

Radersburg 48 $5 00 

Gallatin City 65 7 50 

Hamilton 78 9 00 



Miles. 



From Helena to- 
Central Park 

Bozeman 101 

Virginia City 120 



Bozeman and Tongue River Route— Salisbury & Piatt Stages. 
From Bozeman to— Miles. Fare. 

Benson's Landing 30 $3 50 

Stillwater 102 12 00 

Huntley 163 19 50 



From Helena to — 
Canon Ferry. . 
Diamond City . 



From Bozeman to— Miles 

Etchetah 239 

Rock Springs 283 

Ft. Keogh and Miles City. . . 337 
Diamond City and White Sulphur Springs— Marks & Patterson Stages. 
Miles. Fare. From Helena to— 

18 $2 50 Camp Baker 

35 5 00 White Sulphur Springs 

Bitter Root Valley Route—/. A. Robinson Stage-Line. 



Miles. 

. 60 



Missoula to— Miles. 

Stevensville 28 

Corvallis 43 



Fare. 

$3 00 

4 50 



Missoula to— Miles. 
Skalkaho 51 



Fare. 
$10 00 



$10 00 
12 00 
12 00 



Fare. 

$28 50 

35 00 

42 00 



$7 50 
10 00 



Fare. 
$6 00 



238 



THE GREAT WEST. 



Virginia to- 
Sterling . . . 
Central Park. 



Virginia City and Bozeman— H. F. Galen Stages. 
Fare. 
$4 00 



Miles. 
. 30 
.60 



00 



Virginia to — 
Bozeman . . 



Miles. Fare. 
. 75 $12 00 



POPULATION, ALTITUDE, DISTANCES, AND FARES FROM HELENA, OF 
MOST PROMINENT POINTS. 



Name of Place. 



Miles. 



Fare. 



Population. 



HELENA TO — . . . 

Butte 

Bozeman 

Blackfoot 

Benton 

Clancy 

Camp Baker . . . . 

Corvallis 

Deer Lodge 

Diamond City .... 

Miles City 

Fort Shaw 

Glendale 

Gallatin City .... 

Jefferson 

Missoula 

New Chicago .... 
Phillipsburg .... 

Pioneer 

Kadersburg 

Salisbury 

Sun River 

Stevensville 

Virginia City .... 

Vestal . 

White Sulphur Springs 



80 

101 
29 

144 
18 
60 

193 
45 
35 

438 
84 

125 
65 
22 

150 
77 

102 
61 
48 
90 
85 

178 

120 
24 



$8 00 
12 00 
3 00 

15 00 

1 50 
7 50 

21 50 

6 00 
5 00 

54 00 
9 00 

16 00 

7 50 

2 00 

17 00 

11 00 

12 00 

8 00 
5 00 

13 00 
10 00 
20 00 
16 00 

3 00 
40 00 



4266 
5800 
4900 

2780 

4538 

4546 

2600 
4900 
5200 
4838 
4776 
3200 



4500 
4900 
4850 

5713 

4957 



5000 

4000 

1000 

200 

700 

250 

250 

1000 

200 

800 

500 
100 
200 
700 
200 
600 
200 
200 
100 
100 
200 
1000 
300 
200 



AVERAGE WAGES IN THE EAST AND IN MONTANA. 
Employment. In the East. 

Bakers, per month and board $25 00 

Blacksmiths, per day 2 50 

Bookkeepers, per month 70 00 

Bricklayers, per day 3 50 

Butchers, per month and board 24 00 

Brickmakers, " " 20 00 

Carpenters, per day 2 50 

First cook, per month and board 60 00 

Second cook, " " 30 00 

Cooks in families, " " 11 00 

Chambermaids, " " 10 00 

Clerks, per month 50 00 

Dressmakers, per month 25 00 

Dairymen, per month and board 25 00 

Engineers in mills, per day 2 00 

Farm-hands, per month and board 15 00 

Harness-makers, per day 2 00 

Hostlers, per month and board 15 00 

Laundresses, " " 12 00 



In Montana. 


$65 00 


4 50 


125 00 


6 50 


50 00 


50 00 


4 50 


110 00 


55 00 


35 00 


30 00 


90 00 


70 00 


45 00 


3 50 


42 50 


4 50 


45 00 


85 00 



MONTANA. 239 

Employment. In the East. In Montana. 

Laborers, per month and board $15 00 $35 00 

Lumbermen, " " 28 00 55 00 

Machinists, per day 2 75 4 50 

Miners, " 2 25 3 50 

Millers, per month and board 25 00 65 00 

Millwrights, per day 2 50 4 50 

Painters, per day 2 25 4 00 

Printers, per week 15 00 25 00 

Plasterers, per day 2 50 5 50 

School-teachers, per month 30 00 80 00 

Servants, per month and board 11 00 35 00 

Shepherds, " " 40 00 

Stone-masons, per day 3 00 6 00 

Teamsters, per month and board 18 00 45 00 

Waiters, " " 16 00 55 00 




DAKOTA 



DAKOTA, lying between latitude 42° 30' and 49° north, and longi- 
tude 96° 20' and 104° west, is bounded north by British America, 
east by Minnesota and Iowa, south by Nebraska, and west by Montana and 
Wyoming. The average extent north and south is nearly 450 miles, east 
and west, 350 miles. The area is 150,932 square miles. Dakota orig- 
inally formed a part of Minnesota Territory, which was organized in 
1849, being a portion of the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803. 
In 1854 the Territory of Nebraska was formed, comprising a portion of 
what is now Dakota. The Territory of Dakota was organized by act of 
Congress approved March 2, 1861, and included the present Territories 
of Montana and AVyoming. In 1863 the Territory of Idaho was 
erected, comprising all that portion of Dakota west of longitude 27° 
from Washington. In 1864 the northern part of Eastern Idaho was 
organized as the Territory of Montana ; at the same time the southern 
part, comprising 91,665 square miles, was transferred to Dakota, thus 
making the total area of the Territory at that date 240,597 square miles. 
By act of July 25, 1868, 89,665 square miles were taken from Dakota 
to form the Territory of Wyoming, being all of the above-mentioned 
91,665 square miles excepting a triangular tract of 2000 square miles 
(between Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, bounded north by latitude 
44° 34' north, east by longitude 34° west from Washington, south and 
west by the Rocky Mountains) which has since formed a part of Dakota, 
though widely separated from it. The first permanent settlements of 
whites were made in 1859, in what are now the counties of Clay, Union, 
and Yankton. The first Legislature convened March 17, 1862. Immi- 
gration was very limited until 1866. 

Governor William A. Howard writes in his report for 1879 as follows : 
" Immigration this year has been large, far greater than in any former 
year, and this large increase extends to all parts of the settled portion of 
the Territory — perhaps abo it the same percentage of increase in each of 

240 



---- + I 1 




DAKOTA. 241 

the three divisions. South-eastern Dakota has had a very large increase 
of population. I am told by persons in whom I have confidence that as 
many as three hundred teams, immigrant wagons, have passed into the 
south-eastern part of the Territory daily through the summer. Quite as 
large a percentage has come into Northern Dakota. The same may be 
said of the increase in the Black Hills. In the absence of census returns 
it is impossible to state with accuracy our present population. The swell- 
ing tide of immigration spread over so vast a territory, much of it in 
unorganized counties, makes satisfactory estimates difficult if not impos- 
sible. Well-informed persons have estimated our population at 160,000, 
others at 170,000, and some as high as 180,000. At the present time I 
think it is at least 150,000, probably more than that. The immigration 
to the Black Hills has been large and of a very satisfactory character. 
They claim to have — and I think with good reason — from 25,000 to 
30,000 inhabitants. 

" Railroad facilities are being largely increased in Dakota. We have 
of completed railroad in the Territory about four hundred miles ; this 
will be increased before January next to over five hundred miles. Sev- 
eral strong corporations are pushing their trunk-lines into this Territory 
at various places, as well to carry the products of our rich soil as ulti- 
mately to reach the Black Hills. 

" It is but a short time since vast herds of buffalo roamed undisturbed 
over these prairies ; now farms stocked with cattle and sheep everywhere 
abound. It is not long since we were taught in our Eastern homes and 
in our schools and learned from our geographies the story of the Bad 
Lands, the ' Great American Desert/ and were left to believe that Da- 
kota for barrenness was only equalled by the Desert of Sahara, and that 
its chilling blasts were equal to the cold of Greenland ; but since it has 
been demonstrated that Dakota has a soil exceedingly rich, has more 
arable and less waste land in proportion to its size than any State or Ter- 
ritory in the whole Union, and since millions of bushels of grain are 
already waiting transportation to the markets of the world, capital, pro- 
verbially timid, is stretching out its arms, and with hooks of steel is draw- 
ing to itself the carrying-trade of an empire." 

Most of the Territory west and south of the Missouri River is unor- 
ganized. The oldest counties lie on the east part, along the Minnesota 
borders, and in the south-eastern, along the Missouri River. Yankton, 
the capital, is situated in the south-east corner of the Territory, on the 
Missouri. The greater portion of the white population is in the south- 
east part of the Territory, along the Missouri River ; it is chiefly engaged 

16 



242 THE GREAT WEST. 

in agriculture. The Territory of Dakota forms to a great extent the 
watershed of the two great basins of North America, the Missouri and 
Mississippi Rivers and the tributaries of Hudson Bay. The general 
surface of the country east and north of the Missouri is an undulating 
prairie, free from marsh, swamp, or slough, but traversed by many streams 
and dotted with innumerable lakes. A plateau, called the Coteau des 
Prairies (or Prairie Heights), with an average elevation of fourteen hun- 
dred and fifty feet above the sea, and a breadth of fifteen or twenty miles, 
extends for two hundred miles from the south along the east border, 
while a similar table-land of less height, the Plateau du Coteau du Mis- 
souri, occupies the middle and northern portion. The basin of the Red 
River in the north-east is covered with open grassy plains. In the south- 
west, near latitude 44°, and between longitude 103° and 105°, extending 
into Wyoming, are the Black Hills. They occupy in both Territories an 
area about one hundred miles long and sixty miles wide, or six thousand 
square miles. The base of these hills is twenty-five hundred or three 
thousand feet above the sea, and the highest peaks six thousand seven 
hundred feet. The Missouri River, which is navigable throughout its 
entire course in Dakota, traverses the Territory from the north-west to 
the south-east corner. Its largest tributary is the Yellowstone, which 
flows north-east through Montana, and joins the Missouri on the border 
of the two Territories, in latitude 48°. 

NORTHEEN DAKOTA, 

as that portion north of the 46th parallel is commonly called, embraces 
about half of the present Territory, extending from Minnesota on the 
east to Montana on the west, and being about two hundred and fifty miles 
wide from north to south. This section has a rich soil, healthy climate, 
and is justly famous for its agricultural products. The Northern Pacific 
Railroad traverses this section, and thriving towns are rapidly springing 
up all along the line. Here are situated, in the Red River Valley, those 
immense farms of twenty thousand acres, all under cultivation for wheat. 
The most celebrated farm is Dalrymple's, which is managed as system- 
atically as a railroad. The wheat-crop for 1879 from this one farm was 
400,000 to 500,000 bushels. These rich lands may be called " bonanzas," 
for they will produce year after year, yielding an immense income. A 
traveller, describing this wonderful farm during harvesting, writes as 
follows : 

" Just think of a sea of wheat containing twenty square miles — 
thirteen thousand acres — rich, ripe, golden, the winds rippling over it ! 



DAKOTA. 243 

As far as the eye can see there is the same golden russet hue. Far away 
on the horizon you behold an army sweeping along in grand procession. 
Riding on to meet it, you see a major-general on horseback, the superin- 
tendent, two brigadiers on horseback, repairers. No swords flash in the 
sunlight, but their weapons are monkey-wrenches and hammers. No 
brass band, no drumbeat or shrill note of the fife ; but the army moves 
on — a solid phalanx of twenty-four self-binding reapers — to the music 
of its own machinery. At one sweep, in a twinkling, a swath of one 
hundred and ninety-two feet has been cut and bound, the reapers tossing 
the bundles almost disdainfully into the air, each binder doing the work 
of six men. In all there are one hundred and fifteen self-binding reap- 
ers at work. During the harvest about four hundred men are employed, 
and during threshing six hundred, their wages being two dollars a day 
with board. 

" The acres owned by Mr. Dalrymple are not one whit better than the 
average through the entire length and breadth of this valley, which is 
four hundred miles long and seventy wide, and which is fast filling 
with hardy settlers. Not only the lands of the valley, but the entire 
section between the Red River and the Missouri — a territory containing 
eighty thousand square miles in Northern Dakota alone, saying nothing 
of Montana and Manitoba — is adapted to the cultivation of wheat, oats, 
and barley." 

The Northern Pacific Railroad, extending from Duluth, runs through 
the northern part of Minnesota, and is completed to Bismarck in Dakota. 
It is now in process of construction on what is known as the Missouri 
division, which will be 213 miles in length. The .greater portion of the 
section through which it will run is fertile lands, though it passes through 
some mauvaises terres, or bad lands. Ultimately, the Northern Pacific 
will be completed through to the Pacific Ocean, and five years may see 
" the consummation devoutly to be wished." 

EASTERN DAKOTA. 

The prevailing soil in Eastern Dakota is a dark, calcareous sandy loam, 
with an intermixture of clay. This loam is mostly from four to six 
feet in depth, and has been found from fifteen to twenty feet. It is re- 
markably fertile. The corn-producing belt, which runs through Ohio, 
Indiana, and Illinois, extends north-west through Iowa, up the valley of 
the Missouri through Dakota. The bottom-lands bordering on this great 
river and its tributaries possess a singularly rich and uniform soil and 
furnish extensive and luxuriant meadows. All kinds of grain, fruit, and 



244 THE GREAT WEST. 

vegetables usually grown in the Middle States yield abundantly in Da- 
kota. Indian corn has yielded 70 bushels an acre ; wheat, 30 to 50 ; 
oats, 40 to 75; potatoes, 270 to 500; and barley, buckwheat, and other 
cereals, largely. Wild apples, plums, cherries, grapes, and hops grow 
abundantly along the streams in the Missouri Valley. It is believed 
that tobacco and sweet potatoes can be successfully raised on the warm 
bottom-lands of the south. Dakota possesses remarkable advantages for 
stock-raising. The plains are covered with nutritious grasses, which 
afford abundant pasturage throughout the year. The climate is spe- 
cially favorable to sheep, and wool-growing promises to be an import- 
ant industry. 

THE BLACK HILLS 

were in the heart of the Sioux country until February, 1877, and were so 
jealously guarded by the Indians that white people who visited them did 
so at the peril of their lives, though the Sioux did not live in the Hills, 
as they had a superstition that the Great Spirit never intended these 
mountains for the habitation of man. The terrific thunderstorms which 
are frequent here perhaps had something to do with this belief. The 
Sioux have known of the existence of gold in the Black Hills for many 
years. A third of a century ago, it is said, they showed to Father de 
Smet, the Roman Catholic missionary, who spent his life among them, 
and in whom they had implicit confidence, large nuggets which they had 
picked up in the gulches. He warned them not to show these nuggets to 
the white men, as it would arouse their cupidity and cause the Indians to 
be driven out of the country. Nevertheless, rumors of the mineral wealth 
of the Hills did get abroad, and evidence has been found that a few ad- 
venturers came here in search of gold many years ago, and actually began 
to work the placers. They were probably all massacred by the Indians. 
Several government expeditions were made into the Black Hills be- 
fore that of General Custer in the summer of 1874, and the report of each 
showed the presence of gold and other minerals. The first of these was 
that of Captain Bonneville in 1834. General Harney came in here in 
1855, and the highest peak in the Hills was named in his honor. Other 
expeditions led by Warren visited the Hills in 1856-57, by Dr. Hayden 
in 1858-59, and by General Sully in 1864. General Custer's expedition 
in 1874 is still remembered by most newspaper readers. The practical 
miners who accompanied him reported excellent "prospects;" that is, 
that in washing out the gravel of the streams in pans they obtained gold 
in sufficient quantities to make it pay for working. The reports of these 
miners were received with incredulity in the East, and during the winter 



DAKOTA. 245 

of 1874-75 the question was widely discussed whether there was gold in 
the Black Hills or not. 

So great was the public interest in the discoveries reported by those who 
accompanied General Custer that in the summer of 1875 the Interior De- 
partment sent out an exploring expedition in charge of Professor Jenny, 
a young geologist. He came into the Hills with a train and escort, went 
pretty well over them, and made a map of the country. He discovered 
gold in many places, and more than confirmed Custer's reports of the pre- 
vious year. Professor Jenny did not visit Deadwood and Whitewood 
Gulches, the timber being so thick that he could not get to them with his 
train. But the adventurous placer-miners of the West did not wait for a 
scientific report upon the country, but, braving the hostility of the In- 
dians and other dangers, they began to settle along the streams in the 
Hills in the summer of 1875, and to wash out the gold-dust. The gov- 
ernment forbade all persons to enter this country, and the President, I 
believe, issued a proclamation warning people against invading the ter- 
ritory that had been set apart for the Indians. But it is impossible to 
keep an old placer-miner out of gulches where there are " pay streaks •" 
he will go through fire and water to reach new diggings. Hundreds of 
men came in here in spite of the proclamation, and in spite of the orders 
to military commanders to arrest people found on the road or in the Hills. 
The soldiers even came to the Black Hills, and, going up and down the 
gulches, gathered up the miners, confiscated their provisions, and took 
them to Fort Laramie or to the military posts on the Upper Missouri. 
But the adventurers came in here faster than the soldiers could take them 
out, and most of those arrested, even, as soon as they were released — as 
they all were when a military station was reached — came directly back if 
they had money enough to procure provisions. The government, having 
told the people through its exploring expeditions that there was gold in 
the Black Hills, could not keep them out without sending its whole army 
to guard the avenues of approach, and the policy of forcible removal was 
abandoned about the middle of November. 

Gulch-mining practically commenced in 1876, and quartz-mining one 
year later, and these three years have developed the fact that the Black 
Hills contain the largest area of moderately rich placers and the most 
prodigious deposits of gold ores yet discovered in the world. Gold-mines 
one hundred and fifty feet wide and traced for five miles are found only 
in the Black Hills. About seven thousand mines have been located, and 
it is estimated that the full development of those which are already proven 
rich will give employment to fifty thousand miners. 



246 THE GREAT WEST. 

THE GOLD YIELD 

has been as follows: in 1876, $1,500,000; 1877, $2,500,000; 1878, 
$4,000,000; and conservative estimates for 1879 place it at over 
$6,000,000. The shipments of gold-dust and bullion now average 
$250,000 per week. As in all other mining-regions, the Black Hills 
bonanzas have all been found by poor men, and leading sales made by 
these have been — Father de Smet, $400,000; Segregated Homestake, 
$100,000; Stand-by, $125,000; Gopher and Golden Terra Extension, 
$200,000; Old Abe, $250,000; Homestake No. 1, $70,000; Golden 
Terra, $80,000. Quartz-mills rivalling the best of Nevada and Cali- 
fornia have been built by the score, until now some fifty, with a total 
of about twelve hundred stamps, are in operation. Over $2,500,000 
has been invested in mines and mills. The Aurora has yielded $130,000, 
the Homestake and De Smet each probably six times that amount, and 
$100,000,000 worth of " pay ores " are now in sight in the " bonanza 
belt," of which these mines are a part. The gold ores yield from five to 
thirty dollars per ton — although small streaks of almost pure gold are 
sometimes found — and are mined and milled at an expense of from two 
to four dollars per ton. Black Hills silver ores average much richer 
than the gold, and it is but a trifle more expensive to reduce them. 

The best-developed gold quartz- and gulch-mines, and all the great 
mills, are in the immediate vicinity of Deadwood. 

As a business-centre Deadwood is the metropolis of the Black Hills. 
It has a population of about five thousand ; and the mining-towns in 
this vicinity, with the people who are prospecting in the gulches, cutting 
timber in the mountains, or farming in the fertile valleys within twenty- 
five miles of town, make the number who are more or less dependent 
upon it or contribute to its trade about twice as great. Every kind of 
legitimate business in Deadwood seems to be flourishing. Capital in- 
vested here brings much larger returns than in the East, and there are 
many promising openings besides those offered by the mines. Some idea 
of the magnitude of the business of the Black Hills may be gathered 
from the fact that during last year (from June 1, 1878, to June 1, 1879) 
there were brought in in wagons between twenty and twenty-two million 
pounds of freight. This, of course, included machinery for gold-mills, 
which is very heavy. 

OPPORTUNITIES FOR INTENDING SETTLERS. 

(1.) Are there opportunities in the Black Hills for the investment of 
capital in safe and profitable mines ? 



DAKOTA. 247 

I think there are. The bonanzas of the Hills, thus far discovered, are 
in the hands of two California firms, which have brought to the develop- 
ment of the mines ample capital, long experience, and the best skill. Be- 
ginning not quite two years ago, every month's work which they have 
done has caused their property to increase in value, and to-day every one 
of the mines on the great belt shows a larger body of ore than at any 
previous time. 

Any one who comes to the Black Hills expecting that he will have to 
deal with men who are not his equal in shrewdness and business-capacity 
will find himself woefully mistaken. There is no sharper, more wide- 
awake class of men anywhere than the prospectors and miners. They 
may be roughly clad and live far out in the wilderness in the rudest log 
cabins, and spend their days in shaft or tunnel patiently cutting through 
the rock by candlelight, but any one who expects to get ahead of them 
in a bargain must be up before sunrise. It is a good rule for the stran- 
ger in a mining camp not to judge men by their outward appearance. 
If he does he may mistake the millionaire owner of a bonanza for one of 
his mechanics. 

(2.) What openings are there for prospectors and miners ? 

Prospecting is a trade or profession which can only be learned by actual 
practice or experience. I certainly should not think it wise for any one 
in the East to come here expecting to discover a new mine, unless he 
joins himself to some man who has been engaged in the business before. 
Those who are anxious to try their fortune in this way will find ample 
territory in the Black Hills which has not been fully explored. To be 
successful, however, the prospector should have one or two thousand dol- 
lars capital, and if he discovers a mine that promises well he will need a 
good deal more money to develop it sufficiently either to make it produc- 
tive or marketable at much more than a nominal price. Good mines are 
scarce, and scores of prospectors fail to make their fortunes where one is 
successful. 

The days of placer-mining in the Black Hills are over. A few of the 
gulches are still being worked, both here and in the southern portion of 
the Hills, but the returns are comparatively small. It is possible that 
companies will be formed to bring water from a distance to some of the 
dry placers in the southern section of the Hills, and that the rich dig- 
gings there may be made productive. 

Miners — that is, men who work in the mines with hammer and drill 
— seem to have no difficulty in getting employment. Skilled miners are 
paid $3.50 a day, and common laborers $2.50. Engineers, amalgamators, 



248 THE GREAT WEST. 

and other skilled mechanics earn from $4 to $6 a day. I see no idle 
men anywhere, and as the mines are developed and the amount of ore 
taken out is increased, of course there will be an increased demand for 
labor. 

In this same connection I may say that there is great activity in build- 
ing in Deadwood, which is likely to continue, and I think that carpen- 
ters, bricklayers, plasterers, masons, etc. would have no trouble in finding 
work here. Bricks cannot be obtained as fast as they are needed. Wood- 
choppers are employed by the hundred to supply the mills with fuel. The 
remoteness of the Black Hills and the great expense of reaching them 
will probably prevent the labor-market from being over-supplied for 
some time to come. 

CHANCES IN THE PROFESSIONS. 

(3.) Are the professions full ? 

Deadwood seems to be full of lawyers, and while a few men or firms 
have the cream of the business, here, as elsewhere, all seem to be making 
a living. Mining gives rise to almost endless litigation. The man who 
discovers a mine discovers a lawsuit, and he who buys a mine generally 
finds himself the defendant against half a dozen adverse claims, which 
he must buy out or fight in the courts. Mining-litigation is generally 
very profitable to the lawyers ; and in spite of the large colony of attor- 
neys already here, I have no doubt that there is still room for others who 
are masters of their profession, clever, and industrious. 

The number of physicians and surgeons does not seem to be large, but 
I presume those now here are able to attend to their practice. The cli- 
mate is remarkably healthy. 

Clergymen will find the Black Hills as yet little more than a mission- 
ary-field. Very few religious societies have yet been organized, and 
those are far from healthy. Deadwood still maintains much of the cha- 
racter of a mining camp in the general non-observance of the Sabbath 
and in the indifference of a large proportion of the people to religious 
services. 

There are several mining and civil engineers and assayists here, all of 
whom seem to have plenty of employment. I have no doubt that there 
will be room for a few more. The best position for a mining engineer is 
that of superintendent of a good mine, but such places are, of course, not 
plentiful. 



DAKOTA. 



249 



CORRECT TABLES OF DISTANCES. 

The following are distances from Deadwood to all important points in 
the Black Hills. These are by the shortest wagon-roads ; trails or bridle- 
paths reach all points in about one-third less distance. All camps are 
reached by either the Cheyenne and Sidney lines or their branches: 



Deadwood to— Miles. 

Beaver 20 

Bear Gulch 40 

Belle Fourche Biver 30 

Central City 2£ 

Centennial 5 

Castleton 30 

Custer 56 

Caves and Falls of Whitewood .... 5 

Crook City 10 

Crow Peak 22 

Cold Springs 32 

False Bottom 7 

Forest City 43 

Galena (Silver District) 12 

Germania District 25 

Harney 61 

Hay ward 64 

Hill City 54 

Inyan Kara 60 

Jenny's Stockade 56 

Lead City 4 

Montana City 2 

Mountain City 30 



Deadwood to— Miles. 

Oil City 67 

Potato Gulch 42 

Pactola 60 

Rochford 66 

Rockerville 59 

Sand Creek 45 

Spearfish City 12 

Spearfish Falls and Cation 14 

Sheridan 42 

Sitting Bull 40 

DEADWOOD TO OUTSIDE POINTS. 

Bear Lodge Mountains 85 

Big Horn Mountains 235 

Fort Robinson 150 

Cheyenne 266 

Fort Laramie 185 

Fort McKinney 225 

Miles City 250 

Sidney 265 

Redwater Coal-Mines 30 

Omaha 674 



DISTANCES FROM RAPID CITY. 



Rapid City to— Miles. 

Crook City 35 

Deadwood 42 

Central City 44 

Lead City 46 

Galena City 30 

Spearfish 47 

Forest City 56 

Pactola 13 

Castleton 24 

Sheridan 16 

Hill City 22 

Tigerville 26 

Rockerville 12 

Hayward 18 

Harney City . . . • ' 20 

Custer City 40 



Rapid City to— Miles. 

Rochford 24 

Florence 26 

Myers City 26 

Ochre City 23 

Golden Centre 25 

Elkhorn City 27 

Mountain City 41 

Sitting Bull 26 

Sturgis City 30 

Fort Meade 28 

Fort Robinson 108 

Fort Laramie 143 

Fort Pierre 160 

Sidney 225 

Cheyenne 260 

Bismarck 275 



BLACK HILLS ALTITUDES. 

ELEVATION ABOVE THE SEA OF PROMINENT CITIES, MOUNTAINS, VALLEYS, ETC. 

Feet. | Feet. 



Inyan Kara Peak 6,500 

Bare Butte 4,800 

Floral Valley . 



Terry's Peak 7,200 

Custer's Peak 6,750 

Devil's Tower 5,100 



Crook's Monument 7,600 I Rapid City 3,175 



250 



THE GREAT WEST. 



Feet. 

Crook City 3,725 

Eochford (estimated) 4,500 

Harney's Peak 7,440 

Belle Fourche 3,734 

Castle Creek Valley 6,136 

Dodge Peak 7,300 



Feet. 

Warren's Peak 6,900 

Crow Peaks 6,200 

Deadwood 4,425 

Eoekerville 4,125 

Pactola (estimated) 4,000 

Custer City " 4.200 



POPULATION OF THE CITIES AND SETTLEMENTS. 



Population. 

Deadwood 6,000 

Golden Gate 700 

Lead City 2,500 

Eoekerville 600 

Eochford 600 

Sturgis City 300 

Sheridan 200 

Tigerville 200 



Population. 
. . 2,000 



Central City 

Gayville 800 

Eapid City 500 

Crook City 500 

Custer City 400 

Spearfish City 250 

Hill City 200 

Galena 250 



Pactola, Hayward and other settlements 2,500 

Total 18,000 




MINNESOTA. 



THE Indian name for Minnesota is " sky-colored water," in allusion to 
the river which gives its name to the State. Its length north and 
south is 375 miles, and its average breadth 250. It embraces in area 
83,531 square miles, or 54,760,000 acres. To form an idea of the size, 
compare it with other States and countries. It is larger than the New 
England States and Maryland combined, and nearly as large as Ohio and 
Pennsylvania together. The acreage of arable land already surveyed, 
exclusive of the mineral and pine regions, is as large as the entire area 
of Illinois ; one of the counties of the State, St. Louis, contains 4,000,000 
acres. 

The surface of Minnesota is, generally speaking, undulating in its ap- 
pearance, and is a succession of plains and prairies, drained by an admi- 
rable water-system, with here and there heavily-timbered bottoms and belts 
of virgin forest. The distinguishing feature of the State is the wonderful 
chain of lakes and rivers which renders it in water-power without a rival 
in the Union. The mighty Mississippi here takes its rise, and drains a 
basin of eight hundred miles of country. The Red River of the North 
connects Minnesota with the immense and fertile regions of Manitoba, 
and the St. Croix, on her easterns border, provides that portion of the 
State with water-outlet for its products. It is hardly possible to describe 
the many beautiful lakes that dot the surface of the State and afford such 
an attraction to the tourist, invalid, and sportsman. Their fame has gone 
abroad. They abound in fish, while they present many charming scenes 
of natural beauty. 



Though the general impression is of extreme cold and a rigorous win- 
ter, yet it is found that the temperature of this State is somewhat similar 
to that of New York. The isothermal line, which here trends to the 

251 



252 THE GREAT WEST. 

north, has a marked influence on the climate of this State as well as of 
the adjoining Territories to the west. 

The pure, dry atmosphere here offers a panacea to many ills con- 
tracted in more humid climates, and if the system is not too much ex- 
hausted by disease the vitality is restored. Indeed, one reason that the 
inhabitants can endure even the most extreme cold is the sense of elas- 
ticity and buoyancy imparted to the system by the dry and pure atmo- 
sphere. 

SOIL AND PRODUCTIONS. 

The soil is a dark loam, intermixed with sandy drift,' and rests upon a 
stratum of clay. There is a remarkable uniformity throughout the State, 
inasmuch as it is nearly all an alluvial deposit, varying from one to five 
feet in depth. The exceptional district is on the north shore of Lake 
Superior, where the land is broken and unfit for cultivation. 

WHEAT. 

"Wheat is the staple product of Minnesota, not because it is the only 
grain-crop that will mature, nor even for the reason that it is surer and 
its yield more bountiful, but simply because it always sells readily for 
cash. Whether the crop is scant or full, the farmer is safe in calculating 
his wheat as so much ready money as soon as he can get it to the market, 
and it usually brings a remunerative price. This is why the agricultu- 
rists of Minnesota have applied themselves mainly to the cultivation of 
wheat, and thus won for the State the deserved and almost world-wide 
reputation of producing wheat of a better quality than that grown in any 
other part of the United States, if not of the world. It is exceedingly 
rich in nutritive elements, and the flour made from it always commands 
the highest prices. 

The average yield of wheat in this State ranges from about sixteen to 
twenty bushels per acre, and when, in connection with this statement, it 
is remembered that the area upon which it is grown includes one million 
eight hundred and fifty thousand acres, scattered over sixty-eight counties, 
extending about two hundred and sixty miles east and west and two hun- 
dred and eighty north and south, the magnitude of the yield can be more 
fully appreciated. It is rarely, if ever, that a season passes without more 
or less injury to crops resulting from local droughts, storms, or other 
causes in a region so extensive, and it must always be the case that amongst 
sixty-odd thousand farmers there are a good many who are negligent in 
tilling their lands and taking care of their produce. When a district of 



MINNESOTA. 253 

such immense extent shows an average yield of even twelve bushels per 
acre, the circumstance merits especial mention. 

CORN, OATS, AND OTHER GRAINS. 

Corn has been grown in the State since its earliest settlement, and it 
matures well and yields abundantly almost every season. In 1867 the 
area devoted to the cultivation was 162,722 acres, and in 1877 it had in- 
creased to 388,708 acres. For eight years, embracing the period from 
1867 to 1874 inclusive, the average yield was thirty-two and a half 
bushels per acre. The oats grown in Minnesota are generally heavy 
and contain an unusual proportion of nutritive constituents. They are 
held in high esteem for the manufacture of oatmeal. In 1877 the 
quantity produced was 13,819,630 bushels, averaging thirty-nine and a 
quarter bushels to the acre. Eye yields an average of sixteen bushels. 
The barley of this State is renowned in the market for its weight, freedom 
from rust, and mature development. The general average was twenty-six 
bushels per acre for a number of years. Buckwheat averaged thirteen 
and one-eighth bushels. Timothy, clover, flax, and hemp grow here, 
while the wild grasses of the State are famous for the nourishment they 
contain. The three varieties are buifalo, herd, and blue-joint. They 
make excellent food for cattle, sheep, and horses. 

Fruits and berries grow well ; honey is in abundance throughout the 
State. Garden vegetables and melons are produced in great variety. 
Tobacco is grown in fifty-nine counties, and in 1877 there were 38,839 
pounds raised. This ought to be accepted as sufficient evidence of the 
length of the season, for it is well known that the plant matures slowly. 
Amber corn is also grown, and has been made a success. 

STOCK-RAISING. 

The richness and abundance of the native grasses and the wide ranges 
of free pasturage in Minnesota naturally attracted the attention of cattle- 
growers at an early day, and experiments in every instance proved re- 
markably successful. It was found that the pasturage frequently con- 
tinued fair until about the middle of November, and in the spring the 
grass grew rapidly, so that the feeding-season was but little, if any, longer 
than in Illinois or Missouri, and there was no more necessity for grain- 
feeding than in districts farther south. This success has led many persons 
to engage in raising cattle, and the business has already become important, 
involving in the aggregate a large investment of capital. 

The same causes which make Minnesota an excellent country for rais- 



254 THE GREAT WEST. 

ing neat cattle also adapt it for growing sheep and wool. The feed is 
abundant in quantity, superior in quality, and procured cheaply. Sheep 
require to be cared for in winter, and sheds with high roofs and good 
ventilation are necessary for the best condition of the flocks. They are 
not liable to foot-rot, catarrhal affections, and various other ailments, as 
in moister climates ; their wool is heavier and grows thicker and of finer 
fibre, because of the greater warmth required in this natural covering in 
the regularly cold winters of this latitude. 

MANUFACTURING. 

No State in the Union is richer than Minnesota in capabilities for 
manufacturing. At Minneapolis the St. Anthony Falls of the Missis- 
sippi River afford a water-power of magnificent available capacity. It 
is already utilized by nineteen flouring-mills, with an aggregate of two 
hundred and twenty run of stone and capacity for the manufacture of 
about one million six hundred and fifty thousand barrels of flour per 
year ; by twenty saw- and shingle-mills, with eighteen gang, twenty-five 
double circular, and a number of smaller saws ; and by manufactories of 
cotton and wool, farm-machinery, etc. The St. Croix River, above Still- 
water in Washington county, and especially in the vicinity of Taylor's 
Falls in Chisago county, affords a series of superb water-powers, in the 
aggregate equalling, if not surpassing, that of St. Anthony Falls. These 
are partially improved now in running flouring- and saw-mills and other 
machinery, and with the rapidly-increasing railroad facilities which are 
being afforded that section of the State, and the constant large additions 
made to its population annually, they will no doubt be much more exten- 
sively employed in the early future. At Fergus Falls, on Red River, is 
another extraordinary power, computed to be equal to over twenty thou- 
sand horse-power, all of which can be easily and cheaply made available. 
It is not yet improved to any considerable extent, but will be during the 
current season. A good deal of flour is already manufactured there for 
home consumption and to supply the Manitoba market. At Granite Falls, 
on the upper Minnesota River, in Yellow Medicine county, is still another 
of over twelve thousand horse-power capacity, improved partially, there 
being two flouring-mills in operation there. Another power of extraor- 
dinary capacity, and easily and entirely made available, is found on the 
St. Louis River, near Thomson, in Carlton county. This is about to be 
improved somewhat extensively for sawing lumber, as it is adjacent to an 
extensive pine-region. 

Three of the above — viz. that at Minneapolis, that on the St. Croix, 



MINNESOTA. 255 

and that on the St. Louis River justly deserve to be called gigantic 
powers, while the others already mentioned, and one at Sauk Rapids in 
Stearns county, another on the Cottonwood in Brown county, and per- 
haps a dozen more in as many different localities, are very extensive and 
valuable powers. Most of these are wholly unimproved, and probably 
the full capacity of none is yet made available. Houston county has a fine 
power of very considerable capacity on Root River, and there are several 
others on that stream in that and Fillmore counties. On the Zumbro 
River there are four or five extensive powers, and on the Cannon some 
eight or ten. Indeed, there are several hundred streams scattered all 
over the State which afford four or five times the water-power needed for 
the districts adjacent to them. On looking over the Statistical Report for 
1878, it is found that sixty-three counties reported four hundred and fifty- 
two flour mills. These probably manufacture about five million five hun- 
dred thousand barrels per year. All but about five hundred thousand 
barrels of this, which is the product of steam-mills, is the result of the 
water-power of the State now improved ; and besides this there is an im- 
mense manufacture of lumber accomplished by the same agency, and a 
good many other factories derive their motion from this source; yet 
hardly one-twentieth of the capacity of the water-power of the State has 
been made available. Every county in the State, it is believed, has more 
or less available water-power within its borders. 

This widely-diffused and immense mechanical force gives ample oppor- 
tunity for Minnesota to send all the products of her fields, flocks, forests, 
and mines to market in their prepared condition, thereby avoiding ex- 
pense of transportation on the refuse portions, saving for her own use 
those parts which are not profitably marketable, and giving employment 
to thousands of her citizens in the mechanical departments of industry, 
thus securing to the State the greatest possible share of the profits accru- 
ing from her products. 

MINNESOTA FLOUE. 

In the foregoing article on the manufacturing capabilities of the State 
incidental mention is made of the already extensive milling interests. 
No data are obtainable at the moment from which to derive an approxi- 
mate idea of the amount invested in this single business, but it is neces- 
sarily very large, for a number of our Minnesota mills are the finest in 
the world. Those at Minneapolis are especially noticeable, and are visited 
by persons who come here from the Eastern States as objects particularly 
worthy of curiosity. At Stillwater, St. Paul, Red Wing, Cannon Falls, 



256 THE GREAT WEST. 

Northfield, and Lanesboro', and on the Zumbro River and at Sauk Centre, 
Mankato, Fergus Falls, and several other points, are others less extensive, 
but still of considerable dimensions and expensive construction, and in 
most instances supplied with all the recently-improved machinery and 
apparatus for the manufacture of the best description of flour. The 
flour manufactured of Minnesota wheat and by mills in this State has 
for years ranked highest in the Eastern and foreign markets, and com- 
manded the best prices, and for the past two or three years has been in 
especial demand for shipment to Europe. About a year ago orders began 
to be received by the millers here directly from foreign dealers, for the 
double purpose of making sure of obtaining the flour desired and saving 
the additional expense of commissions and forwarding charges at Eastern 
ports. This trade has grown rapidly, Minneapolis alone having shipped 
last year 109,183 barrels direct to foreign ports, and several other mills 
considerable quantities ; and it continues to increase, thus augmenting the 
ability of the millers to pay higher prices for the wheat, and in that way 
contributing to benefit the agriculturists of the State. From the satis- 
faction which has so far been given to both shippers and receivers, there 
is no doubt that this direct trade will continue to grow until it covers 
the entire quantity of Minnesota flour sent to Europe. 

The estimated population of the State is 800,000, but the rapidly- 
increasing immigration will largely swell that number in the next few 
years. The building of the Northern Pacific Railroad opened to easy 
access a vast fertile territory, which is yielding under cultivation prodig- 
ious quantities of wheat. The many railroads now in course of construc- 
tion, penetrating new fields, with those but recently built, offer to the 
immigrant many strong inducements in the choice of valuable lands. 
The government also offers great inducements in public lands. From 
the present outlook it is not unsafe to assert that Minnesota will be one 
of the great manufacturing as well as agricultural States. The cities of 
St. Paul and Minneapolis have grown wonderfully within the past few 
years, while the future is most flattering for a still larger increase, and 
they can be taken as an index of the growth of the State at large. 



THE KANSAS EMIGRANTS 



TT7"E cross the prairies, as of old 
' » The Pilgrims crossed the sea, 
To make the West, as they the East, 
The homestead of the free. 

We go to rear a wall of men 
On Freedom's southern line, 

And plant beside the cotton tree 
The nigged Northern pine. 

We're flowing from our native hills 

As our free rivers flow ; 
The blessing of our mother-land 

Is on us as we go. 

We go to plant our common schools 

On distant prairie swells, 
And give the Sabbath of the wild 

The music of her bells. 

Upbearing, like the ark of old, 

The Bible in our van, 
We go to test the truth of God 

Against the fraud of man. 

No pause nor rest save where the streams 

That feed the Kansas run — 
Save where our Pilgrim gonfalon 

Shall flout the setting sun, 

We'll tread the prairie as of old 

Our fathers sailed the sea, 
And make the West, as they the East, 

The homestead of the free. 



257 



KANSAS 



p EOGRAPHICALLY speaking, Kansas is the central State of our 
VJT American Union, lying between the meridian of 94° 38' and 102° 
of west longitude, and between the parallels of 37° and 40° north lati- 
tude. It is bounded on the north by Nebraska, the 40th parallel forming 
the line of division ; east by Missouri ; south by the Indian Territory ; 
west by Colorado. Its area is stated by the General Land-Office as 
81,318 square miles, or 52,043,520 acres. Its length from east to west 
ranges from 391 to 410 miles ; its breadth from north to south is 200 
miles. The State has no mountains, but, though there are extensive 
prairies, it is far from being monotonous. There are everywhere low 
hills or gentle undulations. The surface of Eastern Kansas is chiefly 
undulating, and presents a succession of rich prairies, grass-covered hills, 
and fertile valleys, with an abundance of timber on the streams. The 
western half is not so diversified in its scenery, but has a rolling and varied 
surface. No Western State has so conspicuous a history as Kansas, and 
this sketch would be incomplete without at least a mention of a few 
facts connected with its eventful career. 

HISTORY OF KANSAS. 

That portion of Kansas lying east of the 100th meridian formed part 
of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, and was included at different times 
in Louisiana and Missouri Territory. By the Missouri Compromise Act 
of 1820 in all this region lying north of latitude 36° 30', excepting only 
such part thereof as was included within the limits of the State of Mis- 
souri, slavery was prohibited. As a result of the Mexican war, the terri- 
tory of the United States was extended from the 100th meridian west- 
ward to the Pacific as far south as 32° 30' north latitude. In 1853 
settlers had already entered the territory in such numbers that Congress 
was called upon to protect them from the Indians, With the increase 
of immigration it soon became evident that the fertile lands of Eastern 

258 



KANSAS. 259 

Kansas were to be objects of contention among the friends and oppo- 
nents of slavery ; the latter contending that by the Missouri Compromise 
this region was to be exempt from slavery, while the former claimed it on 
the ground of partial repeal of that Compromise in 1850 and the attend- 
ing circumstances arising from the accession of new territory in 1848. Both 
sides were terribly in earnest. In Massachusetts and Connecticut an emi- 
grants'* aid society was chartered, with ample funds, in 1854, to assist emi- 
grants to remove to Kansas and to furnish them with weapons of defence 
against those who might attack them. In 1854, Congress passed the Kan- 
sas and Nebraska Bill, organizing these two Territories, and expressly de- 
claring that the Missouri Compromise of 1820 was inoperative and void 
in regard to them. As thus organized, the two Territories extended to 
the Rocky Mountains, taking in considerable portion of Colorado. 
The emigrants forwarded by the emigrants' aid companies entered this 
Territory in very considerable numbers in the spring and summer of 
1854. They were generally resolute men; able and willing to contend 
for their new homes ; but the pro-slavery men of Missouri and Arkansas 
were as determined to secure the prize for themselves ; and a series of 
raids and conflicts ensued, lasting for four years or more, in which many 
settlers as well as invaders were killed. Lawrence was twee besieged 
and burned ; Pottawattamie, Ossawattamie, and Leavenworth were partially 
destroyed ; the polls invaded and broken up ; legislatures disturbed, their 
members and officers arrested and imprisoned ; and the Territory kept in 
a constant state of turmoil. Governor after governor was appointed by 
the Presidents. President Pierce appointed Governor Reeder, and Presi- 
dent Buchanan appointed Governors Shannon, Geary, Walker, Denver, 
Medary, and Stanton ; but each in turn became convinced of the justice 
of the cause of the settlers, and so incurred the displeasure of the " Border 
Ruffians," as the invading party was called, and for various causes they 
resigned or were removed. 

Four successive constitutions for the Territory were voted upon between 
December, 1855, and October, 1859. The first, known as the "Topeka 
Constitution," prohibited slavery, and was adopted in December, 1855, 
with very little opposition, but its authority was never recognized by pro- 
slavery men, very few of whom, however, were legal voters. The second, 
called the " Lecompton Constitution," was drawn up by a convention 
never authorized by the people and composed almost entirely of Atchison's 
followers, the Free State men refusing to vote, and only two thousand 
out of more than ten thousand votes being cast for it. The convention 
met at Lecompton in the autumn of 1857, and the constitution prepared 



260 THE GREAT WEST. 

by it had four sections relating to slavery — prohibiting emancipation, con- 
ferring upon slaveholders all the immunities of the worst slave codes, and 
declaring these inviolable, and preventing any change in this constitution 
before 1864. The only alternative left to the people was to vote for this 
constitution (which was otherwise objectionable) with or without the 
slavery sections. The Free State men generally refused to vote, and the 
constitution was declared to be adopted by about five thousand six hun- 
dred majority, the greater part known to be fraudulent. On January 4, 
1858, the people had an opportunity of voting against it at the Territorial 
election, and there was a majority of 10,226 votes against it. On August 
3, 1858, Congress ordered another vote on this constitution, and it was 
rejected by over ten thousand majority. 

Another constitution had been made by a constitutional convention in 
April, 1858, and had been adopted by a small vote. As it was not quite 
satisfactory, a fourth convention met at Wyandotte, July 5, 1859, and 
adopted the present constitution of the State. This was ratified by the 
people October 4, 1859, by about four thousand majority. 

Kansas was admitted into the Union as a State on January 29, 1861, 
and its subsequent history has been one of great prosperity. During the 
late civil war no State sent so large a proportion of its male population 
as Kansas. Its growth since the war has been without a parallel for its 
rapidity. Its population in 1860 was 109,000 ; it is now, according to 
the, returns of 1878, 849,978. 



THE GEOLOGY OF KANSAS. 

BY PEOF. B. F. MUDGE. 



THE average altitude of Kansas above the level of the sea is 2375 feet, 
according to the " List of Elevations " by Henry Gannett, one of 
Professor Hayden's reporters connected with the geological survey. The 
highest level is in Cheyenne county — about four thousand feet. 

By an inspection of the State map it will be noticed that the rivers 
drain the country in a southerly and easterly direction. The valleys of 
the Arkansas, Smoky Hill, and Solomon Rivers, in the western half of 
the State, flow at quite different altitudes and rates of descent. The upper 



KANSAS. 261 

part of the valley of the Smoky Hill is from three to five hundred feet 
above the corresponding portions of the Arkansas Valley, and the upper 
valley of the Solomon is from one to two hundred feet higher than the 
Smoky. These rivers drain the country in a south-easterly and southerly 
direction, and their descent is gradual, without a waterfall in the State 
seven feet in height. The average descent of the Arkansas is a little over 
six feet to the mile, while the Smoky is seven and the Solomon nearly 
ten feet to the mile. On the upper portions of the latter two rivers the 
descent is much greater than on the last hundred miles. This is seen in 
the Smoky, which enters Kansas five hundred feet above the Arkansas, 
but when it unites with the Saline River it has come down to the level 
of the Arkansas in the same longitude. 

The surface for the most part is a gently-rolling prairie, with few steep 
hills and bluffs, and the ravines are not often precipitous or deep. In 
the unsettled portion of the State, where there are no roads, the traveller 
has no difficulty in crossing the country in any direction ; even where the 
rivers have rapids a mill-dam can rarely give a fall of more than ten 
feet. 

The soil of both valley and high prairie is the same — the fine black, 
rich loam so common in the Western States. The predominating lime- 
stones by disintegration aid in its fertility, but the extreme fineness of all 
the ingredients acts most effectually in producing its richness. On the 
high prairie it is from one to two feet deep ; in the bottoms it is some- 
times twenty feet. A few exceptions to this general rule of fertility exist 
in the most western and south-western counties, but they constitute only 
a small proportion of the whole. The State is so well drained that there- 
are very few valleys with stagnant ponds, and there is not a peat-swamp 
of fifty acres within its boundaries. 

A very common opinion prevails that the lands lying near the Colorado 
line contain numerous alkali springs, and that the surface is sometimes 
covered by white alkaline deposits. This is a mistake. During fifteen 
years' aquaintance with this part of the State I have seen but two springs 
appearing to contain that substance, and never found ten acres where the 
vegetation had been injured by it. 

From all the facts collected in various parts of the State relating to the 
geological formations found here, we conclude without hesitation that there 
is nowhere to be seen any violent disturbance of the strata, or even any 
slight metamorphic action in any of our deposits. The uplifting of this 
State and the adjoining country from the level of the ocean must have 
been slow, uniform, and in a perpendicular position. This may have 



262 THE GREAT WEST. 

been as slow as that now going on in Florida, or a rise of five feet in a 
century. From our knowledge of the geology of the West, this un- 
doubtedly took place after the rise of the Rocky Mountains, and prob- 
ably did not come to a close until the Drift period, as the channels cut 
by the rivers are large and often through earlier processes, and may date 
still farther back in geological history. 

The most abundant and best building material in the State is limestone. 
One of the most valuable natural products is gypsum (or sulphate of lime), 
which is found in many places in Kansas. The supply of salt in the 
State is so abundant that if developed it would meet the demand of the 
whole Valley of the Mississippi, even if the population were tenfold greater 
than at present. Lead and zinc have been discovered in the south-east- 
ern portion of the State. There has been some mining, and the towns 
of Galena and . Empire City, embracing a population of three thousand 
inhabitants, are the result of the development of the mines. The geo- 
logical formation of Kansas is entirely different from that producing 
gold and silver, except when combined with lead. All reports, therefore, 
of the discovery of the precious metals must be false. Some " mines " 
reported may be "salted." Coal has been found in large quantities. 
The thickest and best seam of coal in Kansas is the Cherokee bed, found 
in Cherokee, Crawford, and Labette counties ; it cokes well and is a good 
gas coal. It is used for smelting, and preferred to the celebrated " black 
coal" of Illinois. 



WHEAT 



THE relative increase and importance of winter and spring wheat can 
be realized in the statement that in 1872 the acreage for winter 
wheat was 247,605 acres, and the product was 2,172,595 bushels; for 
spring wheat the same year the acreage was 64,159; product, 889,346 
bushels. In 1877 the acreage was 859,125, and product 10,800,295 
bushels for winter wheat, and acreage 206,868, and product 3,516,410 
bushels for spring wheat. In 1878 the acreage for winter wheat was 
1,297,555, product 26,518,955 bushels ; for spring wheat, acreage 433,257, 
and product 5,796,403 bushels. An analysis of the foregoing figures 
furnishes many interesting results which indicate clearly to the farmer 
the relative adaptability of* the State for winter and spring wheat. The 



KANSAS. 263 

percentage of increase in acreage of winter wheat from 1872 to 1878 was 
523.06 ; of spring wheat, 675.28. The increase in a single year from 
1877 to 1878 in the aggregate acreage of the two crops was six hundred 
and sixty-six thousand eight hundred and nineteen acres, and is without 
parallel in the history of wheat production in the United States. Kan- 
sas ranked twenty-fourth among the States in 1866, nineteenth in 
1870, eleventh in 1875, and eighth in 1870, in wheat production. 

In rye, the total acreage in 1878 was 128,000, and the product 2,470,000 
bushels. The main corn-belt of the State — that is, the sixteen counties 
having upward of fifty thousand acres in corn — lies almost entirely upon 
the eastern borders of the State, the bulk in the south-eastern counties, 
and thence extending throughout the eastern border counties to Doniphan 
and Brown in the extreme north-west. The acreage in corn for 1878 
was 2,406,000, and the product in bushels was 81,563,400; total value, 
§15,497,046. The barley crop for 1878 yielded 56,255 bushels. The 
increase of oats acreage was very large in 1878 — 444,191 ; while in 1877 
it was but 310,226 — a gain in one year of thirty per cent. 

HORTICULTURE. 

The State produces abundantly of all the fruits that are found in a cor- 
responding latitude in the East, as apples, pears, peaches, plums, cherries, 
and the smaller fruits and different varieties of berries. 

The State encourages timber-culture. The planting of orchards has 
been found to be most successful upon the uplands in preference to the 
lowlands. 

STOCK-RAISING. 
This has grown to be an immense business, yet the rapid settlement and 
te occupation of the lands have confined the grazing-regions to the far 
wstern portion of the State. The greatest part of this business is in 
Teas cattle, in raising or in droving from Texas and shipping directly 
Eat, though the State has a quarantine law for protection of native cattle, 
anefchis trade is therefore under some restriction. To give a more general 
idea->f the management and magnitude of the business, we quote from a 
write- on the subject, who refers to 1877 in his comparisons, and also to 
the s«ith-western section of the State, in the Arkansas Valley : 

" 1e total ' drive ' from Texas in the spring and summer — May 15 to 
July 5— was 280,000. Of these 100,000 went North to the Union 
Pacific ountry, some 60,000 were held in South-western Kansas, and the 
remaincr shipped East. In 1873, in the country south of Great Bend 



264 THE GREAT WEST. 

and Dodge City — Great Bend being then the cattle-shipping point — to 
the State line there were not to exceed ten thousand cattle upon the range. 
In 1874 there were about 25,000, in 1875, about 35,000, in 1876, 45,000, 
and last year (1877), as hitherto stated, 60,000. In addition to the thou- 
sands wintered in South-west Kansas last winter, there were some 30,000 
in the northern part of the Pan-Handle of Texas and tributary to the 
Santa F6 road. 

" Of the ' drive,' the early cattle are usually in the best shape, because 
these come from Northern Texas and have a shorter drive. They are 
also a better class of beeves than coast-cattle, which are coarser and longer 
horned. The profit in the business of purchasing either class of cattle 
with judgment is owing to the little expense from the country being so 
peculiarly adapted to stock — such nutritious grasses, plenitude of spring 
water that never freezes, and no outlay for shelter or feed. The change 
of climate adds immensely to the condition and value of the cattle, for 
here they take on fat readily, having no troublesome flies or extremes of 
heat to annoy and debilitate them. Texas two-year-olds can be grazed 
and fattened here for one year, and sold at three years old for from eighty 
to one hundred per cent, profit. The ruling rates at Dodge City prove 
this beyond all question ; as, for instance, Texas two-year-olds sold last 
summer for fourteen dollars, and the same beeves wintered and grazed in 
Kansas until the present year, when they are of course three-year-olds, 
sell for twenty-four dollars. And now the question naturally arises as 
to the expense of the year's keeping. There are almost any number of 
parties with herds of their own upon the range, and it being practically 
unlimited, the expense of adding to the extent of the herd is simply one 
of increased help ; and as herders' wages per month average about twenty- 
five dollars, the item is not of very great proportions. It is a commor 
practice for other owners, non-residents or those not caring to devote thei 
time individually to their cattle, to place their herds with those of partis 
attending personally to the stock upon the range, and the ruling rates gov- 
erning such proceedings are two dollars each for yearlings and two dollrs 
and a half each for cattle two or more years old. Each owner's stoc' is 
branded with his own recorded brand, hence there can be no troubJ as 
to proprietorship; and as the owner of the main herd recognizes it a his 
best interest to take the.best possible care of his own stock and theom- 
bined herd grazing in common, there can be no discrimination, anddl in 
the herd necessarily receive equal attention. Generally, three o four 
owners giving their time to the care of the cattle lay claim by r£ht of 
occupation to some particular range with running streams of w;«r per- 



KANSAS. 265 

meating it, and driving their stock upon it locate their camps or cabins at 
equidistant points. Twice a day, every morning and afternoon, the entire 
limits of this range are visited, some one riding in both directions from 
each habitation, and, meeting at half-way points, retrace their respective 
routes to starting-places, this being called in herdsmen's parlance ' riding 
the range.' Thus the range is patrolled every day in the year, and the 
cattle not only prevented from roaming beyond the particular range upon 
which they are placed to graze, but all outside intrusion guarded against. 
The percentage of loss by death during the year will not exceed two per 
cent., and one can figure for himself what his profits would be upon an 
investment in Texas two-year-olds at fourteen dollars per head, paying 
two dollars and a half per head for their keeping, allowing two per cent, 
for loss, and selling them at three years old for twenty-four dollars per 
head. 

SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 

Time may develop the fact that for sheep-growing Kansas may be 
divided into two or three belts by lines drawn north and south, thus form- 
ing the eastern, middle, and western belts — the first, or eastern one, more 
especially adapted to the larger mutton-sheep, the middle to the medium 
or mixed breeds grown for wool and mutton both, and the western belt 
to the larger flocks of fine-wool sheep, made up of the merino and its 
crosses on the common sheep. The smaller farms, with less free range, 
and the nearer markets for mutton, point to the possibility of the larger 
breeds being more profitable in the eastern portion of the State. Just 
what influence the increased altitude of the western portion of the State 
will have upon the health of flocks cannot, with the limited experience 
of a few years, be yet determined. It is safe, however, to say that the 
general truth developed by the experience of Kansas breeders is, that the 
high, well-drained prairies of the State have been found, for obvious 
reasons, the healthiest. It will be seen that the breeders from the ex- 
treme western counties report their flocks more than ordinarily free from 
disease. The marked improvement in the weight of both the fleece and 
the carcass in Kansas in flocks which have been removed from other 
States is a point worthy of special notice. The almost unlimited range 
to be found in the western portion of the State presents advantages for 
extensive flocks, and opens a field for the investment of surplus capital 
which will not long be neglected. 



266 THE GREAT WEST. 

LIVE-STOCK. 

[FEOM THE REPORT OF THE STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.] 



THE advance Kansas has made of late years among the other States 
of the Union in aggregate value of live-stock is a very interesting 
study, the reports of the Department of Agriculture (from 1866, and 
including 1876) showing in this wise: In 1866, Kansas was the twenty- 
ninth State in the Union, ranking only Florida, Nebraska, Delaware, and 
Rhode Island. In 1867 she was also the twenty-ninth, with Louisiana 
added to the other four below in rank; in 1868, the thirty-first, Louisi- 
ana stepping to the twenty-ninth, and California coming in the first time 
and assigned the twelfth place. In 1869, Oregon was added to the list, and 
Kansas went to the twenty-fifth place, Maryland falling from twenty- 
fourth to twenty-sixth, Minnesota from twenty-sixth to twenty-eighth, 
West Virginia from twenty-seventh to twenty-ninth, South Carolina 
from twenty-eighth to thirtieth, and New Hampshire taking Kansas's old 
place, the thirty-first. In 1870, Kansas made another long jump, this 
time reaching the nineteenth place, and forcing Massachusetts, who held 
it, to go to the twenty-first. Connecticut fell from twenty-third to 
twenty-ninth, Arkansas from twenty-first to twenty-second, and Maine 
from twenty-second to twenty-seventh. In 1871, Arkansas took the 
nineteenth place, and Kansas went down a peg to the twentieth, but there 
were still behind her several of the oldest States in the Union. In 1872, 
Kansas left Arkansas undisturbed in possession of the nineteenth place, 
but quietly jumped over her to the eighteenth place, forcing New Jersey 
out of it and to the twentieth place. In 1873, Kansas ousted Alabama 
from the sixteenth place, and put behind her, for the first time, Missis- 
sippi and Alabama. In 1874, though the grasshoppers did play such 
havoc with things generally, Kansas lost but four pegs, settling in the 
twentieth position, New Jersey taking the sixteenth, Mississippi the sev- 
enteenth, Minnesota the eighteenth, and Alabama the nineteenth, while 
behind Kansas were Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, and a host of old 
States. In 1875, Kansas bounded over Minnesota, Mississippi, New 
Jersey, and Alabama, and regained the sixteenth place, hugging Virginia 
and Georgia very close for their positions just above her. In 1876 (the 
latest report issued by the department) Kansas went to the seventeenth 
place, Minnesota again creeping by her. Once more Kansas pushed the 
two States just ahead of her, Virginia and Georgia, exceedingly close 



KANSAS. 



267 



for their places, the sixteenth and fifteenth respectively. During all these 
years but one (1873) New York was first. -Illinois was fourth until 1869, 
when she went to third place. In 1870 she went to second place, and 
has remained there ever since, with the exception of 1873, when she took 
first .place from New York. 

The following tables contain an enumeration of live-stock for the year 
1877-78, and the increase and decrease during the year : 



LIVE-STOCK. 





Horses. 


Mules and Asses. 


Milch Cows. 


Xl 

B 

3 


3 

"3 


a 

3 

to 


"3 


Xt 

a 

3 

to 


"3 
> 


Total in 1875 . . 
Total in 1878 . . 


207,376 
274,450 


$9,875,245.12 
16,467,000.00 


24,964 
40,564 


$1,622,660.00 
3,042,300.00 


225,028 
286,241 


$5,747,215.12 
7,442,266.00 


Increase . . . 


67,074 


$6,591,754.88 


15,600 


$1,419,640.00 


61,213 


$1,695,050.88 


Per cent, of in- \ 
crease in 5 yrs. J 


32.34 




54.47 




27.20 







Other Cattle. 


Sheep. 


Swine. 


a 

3 

to 


3 


■a 

a 


_3 

"3 
> 


a 

3 

to 


"3 


Total in 1875 . . 
Total in 1878 . . 


478,295 
586,002 


$9,039,775.50 
12,423,242.40 


106,224 
243,760 


$247,501.92 
731,280.00 


292,658 
1,195,044 


$2,077,871.80 
6,094,724.40 


Increase . . . 


107,707 


$3,383,466.90 


137,536 


$483,778.08 


902,386 


$4,016,852.60 


Per cent, of in- \ 
crease in 5 yrs. / 


22.52 




129.48 




308.34 





In the eleven years from 1866 to 1876 the following changes occurred 
in the positions of the States : New York, first in 1866, and also first 
in 1876 ; Ohio, from second to third ; Pennsylvania, third to fourth ; 
Illinois, fourth to second ; Indiana, fifth to sixth ; Iowa, sixth to fifth ; 
Michigan, seventh to ninth ; Wisconsin, eighth to eleventh ; Kentucky, 
ninth to twelfth ; Missouri, tenth to eighth ; Tennessee, eleventh to thir- 
teenth ; Texas, twelfth to seventh ; Virginia, thirteenth to sixteenth ; 
Georgia, fourteenth to fifteenth ; New Jersey, fifteenth to twenty-second ; 
Alabama, sixteenth to twenty-first ; Vermont, seventeenth to twenty- 
seventh ; Mississippi, eighteenth and eighteenth ; North Carolina, nine- 



268 THE GREAT WEST. 

teenth and nineteenth ; Maine, twentieth to twenty-fourth ; Maryland, 
twenty-first to twenty-sixth ; Massachusetts, twenty-second to twentieth ; 
Connecticut, twenty-third to thirty-first; Minnesota, twenty-fourth to 
fourteenth ; Arkansas, twenty -fifth to twenty-third ; New Hampshire, 
twenty-sixth to thirty-second ; South Carolina, twenty-seventh to twenty- 
ninth ; Louisiana, twenty-eighth to thirtieth ; Kansas, twenty-ninth to 
seventeenth; Florida, thirtieth to thirty-fourth; Nebraska, thirty-first to 
twenty-eighth ; Delaware, thirty-second to thirty-fifth, Rhode Island, 
thirty-third to thirty-sixth. Thus it will be noted that the advance made 
by Kansas in the period named was beyond all question the most striking 
among all the States of the Union, ascending on an average to one place 
higher each year. Minnesota is the only State approaching her, but while 
she was doubling her aggregate of valuation Kansas trebled hers, and at 
the end had within four million dollars the valuation of Minnesota. 
New York, though leading in 1876 as in 1866, had $35,000,000 less 
valuation. Ohio losing $17,000,000 and Pennsylvania $8,000,000, Kan- 
sas had $30,000,000 in 1876 to $10,000,000 in 1868. 

LOCATION OF BEST FARMING LANDS. 

This question cannot be satisfactorily answered unless the exact wants 
of the interrogator are made known in each case. Only a very general 
answer can be given. There is probably no State in the Union where 
there is so small an acreage of waste land as in Kansas. The bottom- 
lands of our beautiful valleys are what are commonly known as " second 
bottoms," which very seldom contain ponds of stagnant water, and which 
are, in this respect, unlike most of the bottom-lands in most of the Western 
States. Skirting and distinctively bounding the valleys are picturesque 
bluffs, varying in form and size, sometimes gently undulating, and then 
bold and abrupt, and in most cases clad with verdure. Stretching out on 
either hand from the skirtings of the valleys are the gently-undulating 
prairies, or uplands, until other valleys are reached. Bottom-lands are 
preferable for hemp and tobacco, and are equally good for other crops, un- 
less it be for fruit. It is thought by many fruit-growers that the growth 
in the bottoms is too rank and soft, and that the fruit is not as fair nor as 
highly flavored ; others think this is compensated largely by the protec- 
tion given from the high winds of the prairies. Sometimes wheat and 
other small grains grow so very rank in the valleys as to lodge badly, and 
wheat is a little more inclined to rust than on the high prairies. The 
whole State, including the yet unorganized counties, embracing what has 
been familiarly known as the " Plains of Kansas," is well adapted to stock- 



KANSAS. 269 

growing ; this designation, which carries with it the idea of a country 
" without elevations or depressions," is as erroneous as that formerly ap- 
plied, within our memory, to all Kansas— the " Great American Desert." 
While many watercourses have their source east of this region, a reference 
to the Kansas map will disclose the fact that the following rivers have 
their sources west of the State: the Cimarron River in the extreme south- 
west; the Arkansas some sixty-five miles north of the former; the Smoky 
Hill in the central portion ; and the Republican in the north-west. It 
will also show that, as these rivers flow eastwardly, the feeders are nu- 
merous and important, webbing the unorganized counties with a network 
of watercourses which will enable sheep-husbandry and grazing of horses, 
cattle, and mules to be carried on to an unlimited extent. To rely upon 
this portion of the State, however, at the present time, for diversified farm 
industries would be disastrous— only a " potter's field " for all capital in- 
vested. The advantages for sheep-raising are equally as good until you 
reach the sixth principal meridian, and east of here through Kansas, in 
the ordinary method of keeping a limited number ; but west of this line 
the range is unlimited, and the deep abrupt walls or bluffs in many locali- 
ties, where small streams and ravines zigzag to the larger ones, guarantee 
ample protection from the severity of the winds of winter, and at the same 
time furnish, in the bottom of the miniature valleys and often on the sides 
of the bluffs, a good growth of wild grass which furnishes nutritious food. 
There are winters where stock, especially sheep, will go through with very 
little care or food beyond what has been named. The failures which have 
hitherto occurred in these industries in the extreme West are owing to 
the fact that an impression has gone abroad that because stock will occa- 
sionally stand this kind of treatment, it may be tried with impunity at 
any time. Tliis is an egregious mistake; stock any and everywhere in 
Kansas need more or less care, protection, food, and water — more than 
they can obtain if allowed to roam at large. It is believed, however, 
that the mortality which often occurs is owing to thirst ; streams become 
frozen, and the poor creatures become mad with thirst, and start out in 
all kinds of weather in quest of water, thereby exposing themselves to 
the inclemency of the weather when their systems are in the worst pos- 
sible condition to repel cold, and when they would otherwise be huddled 
together behind Nature's wind-breaks and feeding upon native grasses, 
without " going out in the cold " for them. 

There are two conditions precedent to a successful outcome in raising 
farm animals on a large scale. These are the adaptability of the climate 
and soil for the production of corn and the amount of grasses fit for pas- 



270 THE GREAT WEST. 

ture and hay. The figures in the progress of the corn-culture eloquently 
establish the claims of that cereal to the title of king of farm-products 
in Kansas. The extreme western organized counties are not as good for 
corn as those in the eastern part of the State, and it is questionable 
whether it can be grown with profit at all except in the river- and creek- 
bottoms. It can be brought by rail from eastern counties at less cost 
than it can be raised in the western, or stock can be taken farther east to 
winter. Corn last fall and through the winter has sold on the line of 
the railroad at from twenty-two to twenty-five cents. But stock can be 
driven a distance from railroad communication, where corn is cheaper. 
As to grasses, the unlimited pastures of Kansas produce a superabun- 
dance of the most nutritious wild or native varieties — the common prairie 
grasses in the east, and the buffalo and blue-stem in the west, taking the 
lead. As the buffaloes recede from the fast-encroaching settlements, the 
blue-stem, a variety which often grows from eight to ten feet high, reaches 
westward, and in turn will undoubtedly be followed by the smaller and 
more desirable prairie-grass, which obtains throughout all Eastern and 
Middle Kansas — that is, in the organized counties. Then, as the settle- 
ments become older and farms become fenced, timothy, clover, and blue- 
grass pastures and meadows have been established with ease, all taking 
kindly to the soil and promising the best of results. In the west — in 
fact, throughout Kansas — alfalfa promises to be eminently successful. 
Especially in the west, where rainfall is variable to some extent, and less 
than in the east, its determined, fibrous roots descend to a great depth, 
and it flourishes beyond all expectation. Millet and Hungarian also do 
well throughout the State. Spring wheat gives the best results in the 
north-west, but is being fast superseded by its stronger rival. 

While we have not been sufficiently definite to answer any one partic- 
ular question, we have endeavored to furnish a fair statement of the rela- 
tive capabilities and possibilities of the different parts of the State, with- 
out narrowing down to county or district lines. In this connection we 
would be recreant to every sense of duty if we did not set forth a little 
more in detail the advantages and disadvantages of the eastern and west- 
ern portions of the State. 

PEICES OF IMPROVED AND UNIMPROVED FARMS. 

The enthusiastic immigrant, when he leaves his more Eastern home, 
seeks cheap lands in the extreme West. He takes no more notice of the 
beautiful farms of Eastern Kansas and the improvements on every hand 
than if they did not exist. And yet these are among the most fertile 



KANSAS. 271 

and productive in the West. They have the advantage of having a most 
admirable network of railroads, which furnish convenient markets for 
their products; elegant school-houses and church edifices, dotting hills 
and valleys ; modern bridges spanning the numerous streams ; court- 
houses and other public buildings erected ; fields under a high state of 
cultivation ; orchards and vineyards in full bearing with all kinds of fruit 
grown in this latitude — apples, pears, peaches, apricots, nectarines, cher- 
ries, plums, grapes, together with the whole army of small fruits. To 
accomplish such results has required the pluck and energy of an enter- 
prising people for the last twenty or more years. The transformation of 
the homestead region from a boundless prairie waste, beautiful but wild, 
into a land teeming with the foregoing evidences of wealth, prosperity, 
and civilization will require another twenty or more years. The western 
portion of the State is bewitchingly inviting to all of small means, whose 
only hope for a farm and home of their own is government land. It is 
equally so to those of larger means, who wish to prosecute farm industries 
on a large scale with the least possible outlay : especially is this true of 
stock-raising. But there is another class throughout the Eastern States, 
who possess from one to fifteen thousand dollars each, and whose little 
capital, owing to shrinkage in values, general business prostration, and 
want of confidence, is either idle or earning a very low rate of interest. 
These men are among the best, and are signalling the West for infor- 
mation to enable them to make safe investments in land and to establish 
new homes and business relations. In the East, with land from one to 
two hundred dollars per acre, their outlook is gloomy. 

In Eastern Kansas we find an anomalous state of things — wild lands at 
about the same prices for which they can be had from private parties in 
the West, while improved farms can be purchased for less than the cost 
of the improvements ; and this in a region unexcelled in fertility, with 
no parallel in the history of material development and substantial pros- 
perity. It is no discredit to the country producing these apparent con- 
tradictions, but greatly in her favor. In the early settlement of the State, 
when immigration was exceedingly large, and when, as now, immigrants 
had to purchase largely the first year, the soil yielded so abundantly, and 
the market at each farmer's door for every bushel of grain, every pound 
of butter, every dozen of eggs, and everything else which he could pro- 
duce, was so good, with prices so extraordinarily high, he considered 
it would be only a question of a few years when he would have all the 
surroundings that affluence could bring. Following quickly upon this 
glittering picture of future wealth, while land-speculation beset and upset 



272 THE GREAT WEST. 

even the old stagers who had passed through in the East the severe ordeal 
of 1836 to 1840, church-spires sprang up like magic, built with money 
largely sent by the various denominations in the older States ; school dis- 
tricts vied with each other in the erection of elegant school-edifices ; court- 
houses, bridges, and other public improvements were carried on ; railroads 
were being pushed ahead with unexampled and unexpected celerity. The 
money for all these improvements was spent in the State, of which the 
farmers received a goodly share. This additional source of prosperity 
begat a new spirit of land-speculation, from which it was impossible for 
any class possessed of the ordinary frailties of human nature to escape. 
Farmers, being the most prosperous, outdid all others in the mania for 
land, which they purchased at fabulous prices, making small down-pay- 
ments, giving notes for the balance secured by mortgage on all their real 
possessions. 

While these seemingly inexhaustible sources of monetary supply con- 
tinued, with real estate constantly appreciating, an Utopian future was 
presented to the mental vision. But in a day, as it were, all these cher- 
ished hopes were dissipated. Values depreciated ; the various improve- 
ments herein named stopped ; bonds which had been issued for railroads, 
expensive school-houses, bridges, court-houses, etc. called for a tax-levy 
for annual interest, and for a sinking fund for their final redemption ; 
and interest had to be paid or defaulted on mortgages covering real estate 
largely undeveloped. Shrinkages occurred in everything except mort- 
gages ; these soon became malignant, cancerous growths, which not only 
consumed the profits of the farmers, but the farms themselves. Hence 
it is that a train of circumstances has conspired to bring financial dis- 
aster upon one class of farmers, while the prosperity of those who are out 
of debt, and the rapid advancement of the country in material greatness, 
clearly vindicate the statement that it is no fault of Kansas, of her soil or 
climate, that this state of things, nearly always incidental to the rapid 
settlement and development of a new country, exists. These overladen 
farmers, with pleasant surroundings, the accumulated labor of years, 
must give up their homes, save all they can, and commence anew in the 
West, where government lands can be had without price. It is to these 
farms, which can be had at great bargains, that the attention of the new- 
comer is called who has the means to gratify his inclination and taste. 



KANSAS. 



273 



POPULATION OF KANSAS. 



rpHE following tables show the population of Kansas, by counties and 
-L principal cities, as returned by the assessors, through the county clerks, 
to the State Board of Agriculture, March 1, 1879 : 



Population by Counties. 





Enumera- 


Enumera- 








Enumera- 


Enumera- 






COONTIES. 


tion of in- 
habitants, 
1878. 


tion of in- 
habitants, 
1879. 


Incr. 


Deer. 


Counties. 


tion „f in- 
habitants, 
1878. 


tion of in- 
habitants, 
1879. 


Incr. 


Deer. 


Allen 


8,964 


10,116 


1,152 




Marion . . . 


8,306 


10,154 


1,848 




Anderson . . . 


6,000 


6,616 


616 




Marshall . . 


12,270 


17,129 


4,859 




* Atchison . . 


20,600 


21,700 


1,100 




MePherson . 


11,291 


13,196 


1,905 




Barbour .... 


1,388 


2,016 


628 




Miami . . . 


14,433 


15,161 


728 




Barton .... 


8,251 


12,333 


4,082 




Mitchell . . 


S.673 


14,034 


5,361 




Bourbon . . . 


17,741 


18,310 


5611 




Montgomery 


16,468 


15,979 




489 


Brown .... 


10,446 


10,790 


344 




Morris . . . 


5,656 


7,197 


' 1,541 




Kutler .... 


14,175 


17,006 


2,831 




Nemaha . . . 


8,876 


10,267 


1,391 




Chautauqua . . 


9,246 


10,537 


1,291 




Neosho . . . 


11.055 


13,594 


2.539 




Chase 


3,798 


4,743 


945 




Norton . . . 


1,855 


4,797 


2,942 




Cherokee . . . 


17,770 


18,535 


765 




Osage . . . . 


12,618 


15,369 


2,751 




Clay 


8,759 


10,658 


1,899 




Osborne . . . 


6,125 


9,445 


3,320 




Cloud 


10,183 


12,656 


2.473 




Ottawa . . . 


6,664 


8,757 


2,093 




Coffey 


8,599 


10,0^7 


1,478 




Pawnee . . . 


6,114 


7,023 


909 




Cowley .... 


15,390 


18,157 


2,767 




Philips . . . 


5,436 


7,956 


2,520 




Crawford . . . 


12,759 


14,622 


1,863 




Pottawatt'rnit 


11,196 


13,791 


2,595 




Davis 


5,382 


6,087 


705 




tPratt (a) . . 




2,084 


2,084 




Dickinson . . . 


10,850 


13,005 


2,155 




Reno . . . . 


11,528 


12,042 


514 




Doniphan . . . 
Douglas .... 


15,122 


15,459 


337 




Republic . . 


10,132 


12,193 


2,061 




18,931 


20,530 


1,599 




Rice . . . . 


6,149 


7,501 


1,352 




Edwards . . . 


1,700 


2,801 


1,101 




J Riley . . . 


7,419 


7,419 






Elk 


8,218 


8,787 


569 




Rooks .... 


2,100 


5,104 


3,004 




Ellis 


2,437 


5,240 


2,803 




Rush . . . . 


2,794 


5,2X2 


2,488 




Ellsworth . . . 


5,057 


6,741 


1,584 




Russell . . . 


3,239 


6,521 


3,2S2 




Ford 


2,160 


2,832 


672 




Saline . . . . 


9,530 


12,424 


2,894 




Franklin . . . 


12,381 


14,073 


1,692 




Sedgwick . . 


15,220 


17,613 


2,393 




Greenwood . . 


7,658 


8,202 


554 




Shawnee . . 


19,114 


22,632 


3,518 




tllarper . . . 




2,158 


2,158 




Smith . . . . 


8,315 


11,498 


3,183 




Harvey .... 


8,107 


10,440 


2,333 




t Stafford (b) . 




2,364 


2,354 




fHodgeman . . 




1,738 


1,738 




Sumner . . . 


12,078 


15,090 


3,012 




Jackson .... 


7,930 


8,732 


802 




t Trego . . . 




2,310 


2,810 




Jefferson . . . 


12,471 


13,872 


1,401 




Wabaunsee . 


5,386 


6,245 


859 




Jewell .... 


11,388 


14,161 


2,773 




Washington . 


10,319 


11,900 


1,581 




Johnson . . . 


18,139 


16,012 




2,127 


Wilson . . . 


11,760 


11,901 


141 




Kingman . . . 




2,599 


2,599 




Woodson . . 


5,514 


6,1158 


541 




Labette .... 


17,196 


18,171 


975 




Wyandotte . 


13,161 


15,046 


1,885 




Leavenworth . 


28,544 


30,283 


1,739 




^Unorganized 










Lincoln .... 
Liun 


4.611 
13,228 


7,448 
14,586 


2,837 
1,358 




counties . . 


8,500 


15.1 


6,500 
















Lyon 


13,634 


15,073 


1,439 




Total . . . 


708,497 


849,978 


144,097 2,616 



Actual increase during the year ending March 1, 1879, 141,481. 

* Estimated by assessors. 

t Harper organized August 5, 1878; Hodgeman organized March 



29, 1879; Stafford organized June 30, 
which accounts for no official returns 



1879 ; Pratt organized July 25, 1879 ; Trego organized June 21, 1879 
for 1878. 

I Returns for 1878; no enumeration for 1879. 

(a) In 1878, Pratt county, then unorganized, was attached to Reno as a township thereof, and to which 
the enumeration was made. Population, March 1, 1878, 2180. 

(6) At the time of the reinstatement of Stafford county by decision of the Supreme Court, June, 1879, 
Barton county extended to the south line of township 23. By said decision twelve townships were taken 
from the south part of Barton and added to Stafford. As the enumeration of inhabitants for Barton was 
taken March 1, 1879, the returns for said twelve townships appear in the Barton county returns, and 
show a population of 2367, or 197 to each of the Congressional townships. June, 1879, at time of said 
decision, the population of Stafford county was 4731. Deducting the population returned to Barton 
county (twelve townships), 2367, from that of Stafford county (4731), we have left 2361 for the remainder 
of the territory of Stafford county. 

18 



274 



THE GREAT WEST. 



Population of the Principal Cities, in the Order of Bank, commencing 
with the Highest. 



Leavenworth, Leavenworth county . 16,643 

Topeka, Shawnee county 11,204 

Atchison, Atchison county 11,000 

Lawrence, Douglas county 8,478 

Wichita, Sedgwick county 5,235 

Fort Scott, Bourbon county .... 5,010 

Wyandotte, Wyandotte county . . . 4,612 

Emporia, Lyon county 4,061 

Ottawa, Franklin county 3,507 

Salina, Saline county 3,383 

Parsons, Labette county 3,130 

Independence, Montgomery county . 2,829 

Newton, Harvey county 2,539 

Junction City, Davis county .... 2,345 

Olathe, Johnson county 2,260 

Beloit, Mitchell county 2,194 

Winfield, Cowley county 2,103 

Osage City, Osage county 2,003 

Paola, Miami county ....••• 1,973 

Burlington, Coffey county 1,740 

Hutchinson, Reno county 1,709 

Clay Centre, Clay county 1,600 

Manhattan, Riley county 1,593 

Empire City, Cherokee county . . . 1,591 

Mound City, Linn county 1,497 



Humboldt, Allen county . . 
Concordia, Cloud county . . 
Great Bend, Barton county . 
Marysville, Marshall county . 
Garnett, Anderson county . . 
Osage Mission, Neosho county 
Girard, Crawford county . . 
Hiawatha, Brown county . . 
Wamego, Pottawattamie county 
Baxter Springs, Cherokee county 
Minneapolis, Ottawa county 
Holton, Jackson county 
Seneca, Nemaha county 
Larned, Pawnee county 
Lola, Allen county . . 
Eureka, Greenwood county 
Oswego, Labette county . 
Chetopa, Labette county 
Fredonia, Wilson county 
Sabetha, Nemaha county 
Neosho Falls, Woodson county 
Washington, Washington county 
Brookville, Saline county . . . 
Cottonwood Falls, Chase county 
Louisville, Pottawattamie county 



1,456 

1,441 

1,430 

1,420 

1,252 

1,216 

1,184 

1,078 

1,071 

1,069 

1,045 

1,044 

1,036 

1,031 

966 

880 

759 

745 

720 

706 



485 
472 
363 



With few exceptions, throughout the State the same person performs 
the duty of assessor for his township and the city or town therein. We 
have given in the above list the population of the cities and towns of the 
State, so far as assessors made separate enumeration of township and city 
population. Where the population of township and city is aggregated, 
an estimate only of either could be given, and injustice might be done. 




TEXAS. 



AREA. 



THIS State is bounded on the south-west by Mexico, from which it 
is separated by the Rio Grande, and on the east by Arkansas and 
Louisiana. It has an area of 237,504 square miles. The reader should 
remember that this vast region is equal in extent to all New England, 
together with New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and half of Indiana. 



In 1687, La Salle, the well-known French explorer, erected a fort on 
Matagorda Bay. In 1715 the country was settled by Spaniards, and sev- 
eral new missions were established, but the Camanche and Apache Indians, 
among the most warlike in America, and still troublesome to the border 
settlements, hindered the progress of the country. In 1 803, Texas, claimed 
by both Spain and the United States, became a disputed territory. From 
1806 to 1816 settlements were formed, and several attempts made to wrest 
the country from Spain. In one of these, in 1813, two thousand five hun- 
dred Americans and Mexicans were killed, among them seven hundred 
inhabitants of San Antonio. Mina, a Spanish refugee, gained some suc- 
cess, but was defeated and shot. 

In 1819 the river Sabine was established as the boundary. In 1820, 
Moses Austin, an American, got a large grant of land in Texas from the 
Mexican government, and began a settlement which rapidly increased, but 
many of the settlers were of so lawless a character that in 1830 the gov- 
ernment forbade any more Americans coming into Texas. In 1833 a 
convention of settlers, now twenty thousand in number, made an unsuc- 
cessful attempt to form an independent Mexican state, and in 1835 a pro- 
visional government was formed, Sam Houston chosen commander-in- 
chief, and the Mexicans driven out of Texas. Santa Anna, president of 
Mexico, invading the country with an army of seven thousand five hundred, 

275 



276 THE GREAT WEST. 

after some successes was entirely routed at San Jacinto, April 21, and 
Texas became an independent republic, acknowledged in 1837 by the 
United States, and in 1840 by England, France, and Belgium. In De- 
cember, 1845, Texas, at her own request, was annexed to the United 
States, but was invaded by Mexico, which had never acknowledged its 
independence, and thus originated the war with the United States. 

PHYSICAL FEATURES. 

The country near the Gulf is level, Math a gradual ascent toward the 
north. The coast-region is formed of alluvial beds of sand or gravel. 
The whole of Eastern Texas, embracing a territory larger than Ohio, 
consists of pine-barrens, called " cross timbers," interspersed with prairies 
which give it a park-like and delightful aspect. The little arable land 
of Eastern Texas is confined to the valleys of the streams. Out of the 
valleys the soil is sandy, and would not pay to clear and cultivate. This 
region, it would seem, is not destined to become thickly peopled. It now 
supports a scanty population of lumbermen, and some poor farmers who 
cultivate little patches along the creek-bottoms. 

The larger streams are bordered by narrow tracts of good soil, where 
there are some large cotton-plantations. This part of the State is not a 
new country, and except on the opening of the lumber industry by the 
building of a railroad it has had no growth in recent years. Something 
might be done with fruit-culture ; a few peach-orchards at Palestine have 
proved remarkably profitable, their product bringing an extremely high 
price in the St. Louis market; but the population lacks enterprise to 
develop any new branch of industry. The middle region of Texas, or 
that portion lying west of the above-described pine-barrens, stretching 
from the Red River southward almost to the Gulf, and having an aver- 
age width of about two hundred miles, consists of beautiful rolling prai- 
ries, which are unexcelled in fertility and productiveness. This region 
may be roughly compared in area to the State of Illinois. 

Farther west is a broad belt of hilly or rolling country, consisting of 
prairies and post-oak or black-jack openings, that is too dry for agricul- 
ture, but is well adapted to grazing. This is the great cattle-region of 
Texas. It stretches from the Red River to the Rio Grande and the Gulf. 
Some portions of this region may eventually be cultivated if the rainfall, 
which is now insufficient, should increase by climatic changes, which are 
said to be going on along the eastern border of the whole arid region 
from Montana down to Mexico. 

Still farther west is an immense arid region, comprising about three- 



TEXAS. 277 

fifths of the whole surface of the State. This region is in the nature of 
a high table-land, and the salt and " Staked Plains " (so called from the 
great abundance of yucca-stems, resembling stakes), elevated from three 
to four thousand feet above the sea, without trees or grass, destitute of 
vegetation, may be allied to a vast desert. There are a few small moun- 
tains in the west, spurs of the Rocky Mountains. The river-bottoms are 
well timbered. 

CLIMATE. 

The climate of Texas is variable, from semi-tropical to moderately 
temperate. Snow and ice are seldom seen in the central portion, and 
rarely if ever in the extreme south. In the northern part one or two 
snowfalls during the winter, of from one to three inches in depth, are 
usually expected ; occasionally a much heavier fall of snow is had, and 
ice from one to two inches in thickness is sometimes made. The mer- 
cury rarely falls more than three or four degrees below the freezing- 
point, and seldom continues that low more than two or three days at a 
time. Stock graze all winter ; field-work can be done at all seasons of 
the year ; and February is regarded as the time for planting corn and 
other cereals. The extreme heat of the summer is 90° to 95°, rarely rising 
to 100°, while in some of the Northern States in the latitude of St. Louis 
it not unfrequently rises to 104°, and even higher. The summer heat is 
so tempered by cool and refreshing breezes from the sea-coast and the 
light winds which blow almost continually from the south and west as 
to render it far less oppressive than in the Northern States. The nights 
are delightfully cool and pleasant. Sunstroke, so frequent at the North 
and East, is almost unknown here. 

MINERALS. 

In this State are found fine marbles and some deposits of lead and 
copper. 

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. 

The soil is of great fertility, the coast producing the finest cotton and 
sugar, and the interior wheat, corn, and fruits of all kinds, with immense 
pasturage, making it one of the finest cattle-raising countries in the world. 

Central Texas is probably the best cotton country in the South, and is 
now producing one-sixth of the whole cotton crop of the United States. 
It is not nearly as good a corn country as Illinois and Kentucky, and for 
the production of wheat no part of it can compare with Minnesota, Iowa, 
and Kansas. Root-crops, as a rule, do not succeed ; the product, though 



278 THE GREAT WEST. 

large and apparently well developed, is coarse and watery. Some fruits 
do tolerably well, particularly the peach and pear, but little attention is 
given to raising them. Apples are brought from the North. Central 
Texas is declared to be a paradise, with excellent soil, and a climate which 
brings visitors for profit, pleasure, and health from all parts of the world. 
Stock-raising, for which Texas is especially adapted, yields to the diligent 
herdsman a bounteous remuneration for his services. The vegetation is 
in the greatest variety, from the oak, cedar, and pine to the palmetto, 
mezquite, and nopal, which latter feeds the cochineal insect; also figs, 
oranges, grapes, vanilla, and flowers in wonderful profusion. 



The prairies abound in buffalo and immense herds of wild horses, and 
the forests with deer. There are also the puma, jaguar, black bear, and 
the wolf. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

The State deaf and dumb, orphan, blind, and lunatic asylums have 
each an endowment of 100,000 acres of State lands. There is a State 
school fund of $2,500,000, and each county has 17,712 acres of land for 
educational purposes. The tide of immigration into the State is immense, 
and there is every prospect that during the present year it will be very 
large. The taxable property of the State in 1850 was $51,000,000 ; in 
1860, $294,000,000; in 1870, $174,000,000; in 1875, $275,000,000; 
while it is believed that in 1879 the figures reached will be nearly 
$325,000,000. 

Though the country is generally level, it is not destitute of wild and 
grand scenery. In some parts of the State are found gigantic animal 
fossils and silicified trees, which are objects of wonder and admiration to 
the scientist and antiquarian. 

Austin, the capital, is a thriving town. The metropolis and most im- 
portant seaport in the State is Galveston. Other towns of importance are 
Houston, Marshall, Indianola, and Corpus Christi. 



W)&~ 




IDAHO. 

BY WILLIAM P. CHANDLER, SURVEYOR-GENERAL. 



THERE is a succession of mountains extending over a large part of 
the northern half of this Territory, the soil of which is generally 
sandy and rocky. The mountain-sides are covered with pine, fir, and 
cedar timber. In the southern part the Goose Creek and Owyhee ranges 
extend to the southern and western boundaries, with similar soil and a 
growth of juniper timber. 

The soil of the lower hills is composed largely of decomposed granite 
and sandstone, and in its natural state produces a luxuriant growth of 
bunch-grass, affording abundant grazing for stock. 

The soil of the table-lands is much the same, except considerable tracts 
in which fine rich loam is intermixed, and when irrigated produces large 
crops of grain. Sage-brush grows on all the table-lands interspersed 
with grass. In the valleys of the streams and along the bases of many 
of the mountain-ranges the soil is a dark, sandy loam, finely pulverized, 
and mellow and well adapted to the growth of cereals and vegetables. 

There is a large volcanic plateau near the centre of the southern half 
of the Territory, inaccessible and unexplored, destitute of soil or vege- 
tation. 

CLIMATE. 

This Territory, extending from the 42d degree of north latitude to the 
49th, and its surface broken up into undulating plains, high rolling hills, 
and rugged mountain-ranges, has a varied climate. The valleys are mild 
and equable, sufficiently warm in summer to mature the crops of the 
farmer, and rarely visited by severe storms or deep snows in winter. In 
the high and mountainous regions the winters are long, deep snows cover 
the ground, but owing to the purity and dryness of the atmosphere they 
are endured without great discomfort. The diy, cool air of the moun- 
tains, the pure streams of cold water, the game for the hunter and trout 

279 



280 THE GREAT WEST. 

for the angler, render life in the mountain-region in summer a perpetual 
attraction to the tourist and invalid. 

The temperature of Boise City, the capital, in latitude 43° 37' north 
and longitude 116° 12' west, 2880 feet above sea-level, is mild, the lowest 
point during the winter of 1878-79 being 5° above zero in January, 
and the highest, 103°, August 9. 

The rainfall was as follows : 

Seasons. Inches. 

Autumn, 1878 1.10 

Winter, 1878-79 5.87 

Spring, 1879 4.38 

Summer, 1879 1.46 

Total 12.31 

AGRICULTURE. 

In considering the agricultural resources and productions of Idaho 
reference must be made to its altitude and surface. 

Its elevation is from two thousand feet above sea-level, in the lower 
Snake River Valley, to nine thousand feet on the top of its mountain- 
peaks, a large part lying above the altitude of four thousand feet. 

The higher portions are broken up into a succession of mountain-ranges, 
in many places very steep and rugged. Below these are high, rolling 
hills, upon which nutritious grasses are found, affording vast pasture- 
lands for stock. Still lower are the table- or " sage-brush " lands, rich in 
soil, and when properly irrigated and cultivated producing large crops of 
cereals and vegetables, and favorable to the growth of fruits common to 
this latitude. The valleys of the streams are fertile, and in the northern 
portion of the Territory (where the rainfalls are sufficient in spring and 
early summer) excellent crops of cereals are raised without artificial irri- 
gation. In the central and southern parts irrigation is essential to sure 
and good crops, although there are occasional small tracts lying near the 
level of the streams on which grain-crops may do well without. 

The mountain-valleys and plateaus, lying not to exceed five thousand 
feet above sea-level, produce large crops of oats and the hardier vegetables, 
and yield hay abundantly when sufficiently watered. 

The agricultural lands are found along the valleys, and include the 
table-lands lying lower than the sources of the streams flowing through 
them, from which water can be brought for irrigation. 

The aggregate amount of such land is large, but is distributed in com- 
paratively small tracts throughout the whole Territory wherever there 
are streams of running water, but mostly in the northern and southern 



IDAHO. 281 

portions. In the northern, along the valleys of the Spokane, Palouse, 
and Clearwater Rivers and their tributaries, successful and quite exten- 
sive farming is carried on, the surplus products finding a ready market 
down the Snake and Columbia Rivers, which are navigable to Lewiston, 
the county-seat of Nez Perce county. 

Salmon River, south of the Clearwater, is a large and rapid stream. 
Its source is in the western slope of the Rocky Mountains and along 
the Saw-Tooth Range near the centre of the Territory, and it courses 
through its entire breadth from east to west, and unites with the Snake 
near latitude 46° north. This stream rises in and runs through the most 
rugged and mountainous part of the Territory, with but little agricultu- 
ral land along its narrow valley. Bonanza City, in latitude 44° 35' 
north, longitude 114° 30' west, altitude sixty-four hundred feet, is sit- 
uated on its head- waters, and is surrounded by high and rugged moun- 
tains whose peaks tower into the regions of perpetual snow. 

A large area of the interior of the Territory is covered by mountains, 
which extend across it from the Rocky Mountain range on the eastern 
boundary to the Snake River on the western. Weiser and Payette 
Rivers rise in the westerly spurs of this mountain-range, and flow west- 
erly into Snake River near latitude 44° north, the valleys of which con- 
tain many acres of very fertile land, upon which there are good farms ; 
and many more will be taken up and cultivated when the settler can 
feel assured that he will not be exposed to the annual raids of maraud- 
ing Indians. 

Boise River takes its rise in the south-easterly spurs of the same 
mountain-range, flows north-westwardly, and joins the Snake in latitude 
43° 40' north, longitude 117° west. The valley of this stream, for a 
distance of sixty miles from its confluence with Snake River to where it 
debouches from the mountains, contains a large area of the most produc- 
tive land, the valley being at some points several miles in width, with 
many farms in a high state of cultivation. The stream falls in its 
course through the valley at the rate of about ten feet per mile. The 
banks are low, and water is easily diverted from its channel to irrigating- 
ditches. 

Snake River takes its rise in the mountainous regions of Wyoming, 
and its various branches, flowing westwardly into the Territory, unite in 
one grand stream twenty-five miles north of Taylor's Bridge, about fifty 
miles from the east boundary of Idaho. Thence its course for a distance 
of one hundred and sixty miles is to the south-west ; thence north-west- 
wardly about the same distance to the western boundary of the Territory ; 



282 THE GREAT WEST. 

thence north along the western boundary about three hundred and fifty 
miles to Lewiston, where it passes into Washington Territory. At the 
point of junction of the several streams forming the Snake there is a 
large tract of rich bottom-land, mostly above high water, and to which 
many settlers have removed this season, feeling confident they will suc- 
ceed in their efforts to cultivate successfully this valley, although the alti- 
tude is nearly five thousand feet above sea-level. 

The stream from this point for a distance of one hundred and fifty 
miles runs through a broad valley of rich land. In many places the 
banks are low and favorable to the construction of irrigating-ditches. 
Below this point for seventy-five miles the river courses through a deep 
rocky canon, in which is situated the Shoshone Falls, equal to the Falls 
of Niagara in height and volume of water and far exceeding them in 
natural scenery. After leaving the canon the river flows with a gentle 
current through an open rolling country about two hundred miles, when 
the mountains on both sides close in, and its course is confined to a 
narrow rocky channel or caiion until it leaves the Territory near 
Lewiston. 

The valley of Snake River contains most of the table-lands in the Ter- 
ritory, and the water of the stream is ample for irrigating millions of 
acres of as productive land as can be found in any country. 

Running into the Snake from the south are several small streams, the 
valleys of which contain considerable tracts of agricultural lands. Com- 
mencing with the Bruneau, thence following up the stream, are Goose 
and Marsh Creeks, Raft River, Fall, Rock, and Bannock Creeks, Port- 
neuf, Ross's Fork, and Blackfoot Rivers. There are settlements in the 
valleys of all these streams, but the more considerable are along Goose 
and Marsh Creeks, Raft River and its tributaries, and Blackfoot. 

In the south-eastern portion of the Territory, along the Malade and 
Bear Rivers and their branches, are large settlements of prosperous 
farmers. 

I have only called attention to the most important agricultural sections 
of the Territory, leaving out the many small valleys containing small 
areas of very productive land and more or less occupied by the farmer 
and herder. 

Any estimate of the number of acres of the various classes of lands 
in this Territory, so broken in its surface and varied in its climate and 
altitude, can be only approximate. Of its total area of 55,228,160 acres, 
I believe 12,000,000 acres to be agricultural, either in its natural state 
or as it may be reclaimed by irrigation with the available water now 



IDAHO. 



283 



flowing in the streams ; 25,000,000 acres pasture-lands ; 10,000,000 acres 
timber-land; and the remainder, 8,228,160 acres, may be considered 
worthless, consisting of inaccessible mountain-peaks and lava-beds. 

The development of the agricultural interests of the Territory has 
been slow, owing to its inland and isolated position, lying outside of 
all railroad lines until the building of the Utah and Northern Railroad 
through the eastern part during last year, with no navigable waters 
except at Lewiston, at the head of steamboat navigation on Snake River, 
just as it leaves the Territory. Transportation by teams is so expensive 
that but little profitable farming can be done beyond a supply of the 
home market, which is found at the mining camps principally, where 
remunerative prices are obtained. 

The yield of cereals is large ; twenty-five to forty bushels of wheat 
and barley, and fifty to eighty bushels of oats, per acre, is a fair average 
yield. Where the ground is properly irrigated and cultivated failure of 
crops has never been known. All the vegetables grown in this latitude 
are produced in abundant quantities for the wants of the people. Loss 
of crops at harvest-time, caused by rains, is unknown. 

I have been unable to find any statistics showing the number of acres 
in cultivation, number of cattle, horses, etc. ; but through the kindness 
of Joseph Perault, Esq., Territorial Auditor, have been furnished with 
the total assessed value of property for taxation, as follows : 

1Q77 $4,319,958.75 

[Ij S ] ;;*.;;■.'.'.'.'.*."'. 4,520,800.50 

The present year has been a prosperous one for the farmer, large crops 
of all kinds having been raised. 

MINING. 

The mineral wealth of Idaho is its largest resource. Extensive and 
rich lodes of gold-, silver-, and copper-bearing ores are known to exist in 
various parts of the Territory. The production of the precious metals 
is the most important and leading branch of industry. The field for en- 
terprise in this direction is almost without limit, but the development of 
its mines has been retarded by the high price of labor and the great cost 
of transporting supplies and machinery to the centre of the mountainous 
regions in which the mines are mostly situated. 

The building of the Utah and Northern Railroad through its eastern 
border, and the expectation of the early construction of a line from near 
Blackfoot to the Columbia River, running through the centre of the Ter- 



284 THE GREAT WEST. 

ritory, has stimulated prospecting, and many rich lodes of gold- and silver- 
bearing ores have been discovered within the year. 

Placer-mining is carried on successfully in many places, but the yearly 
exhaustion of surface-diggings reduces the annual production from that 
source. 

Gold too fine to be separated from the earth by the old process of wash- 
ing is found in Snake River Valley through its whole distance in the 
Territory, and heretofore it has baffled the skill of the miner to save it. 
During the present season several parties have been working claims 
along the river with silver electro-plated machines with satisfactory re- 
sults. Should this system of mining prove successful, it will open up a 
large field of operations. The area of land containing this fine or " float " 
gold may be counted by thousands of acres. 

I have no means of ascertaining the annual production of the various 
mines in this Territory, but from the printed statement of Wells, Fargo 
& Co. find the total shipments of gold-dust, bullion, and ore for the year 
1878 to be $1,868,122. 

To obtain information regarding the condition of mining interests, I 
addressed letters of inquiry to several United States deputy mineral sur- 
veyors, requesting statements of the development and production of the 
mines in their localities. I also requested A. Walters, Esq., United States 
Assayer at Boise City, to furnish a brief outline of the mineral resources 
of the Territory. His official relation with miners gives him facilities to 
obtain the most reliable information, which is contained in his able and 
intelligent statement, and which I have the pleasure to introduce : 

" United States Assay Office, \ 
" Boise City, Idaho, October 3, 1879. j 

" Sir : Agreeably to request, I have the honor to herewith give you a 
brief outline of the mineral resources of Idaho Territory and the past and 
prospective production of her mines. 

" Until five or six years ago by far the largest portion of the precious 
metals produced in the Territory was derived from the placer-mines, and 
it is safe to credit to that source of supply at least three-fourths of the 
sixty-five millions produced up to 1873. Since then most of the rich 
alluvial deposits have been exhausted, and, with few exceptions, placer- 
mining is entirely in the hands of Chinese, who, on account of their more 
than frugal habits and mode of living, manage to realize (to them) large 
profits from claims which would not yield the lowest wages to a white 
laborer. While during the most productive seasons these placers yielded 



IDAHO. 285 

as high as five and six millions per annum, less than one million has been 
taken out annually for the last few years, principally derived from the 
placers of Boise Basin. There being a large amount of poor — or so-called 
Chinese — diggings, this production will probably continue for quite a 
number of years, but as the whole country has been pretty thoroughly 
prospected for placers, it is hardly probable that any more rich diggings 
will be found that are extensive enough to cut a figure in the bullion pro- 
duction of the Territory. 

" The gradual exhaustion of the placers naturally led miners to look 
for the source whence these gravel-deposits came, and numerous gold- and 
silver-bearing veins were thereby discovered, especially during the last 
three years. 

" The first lodes discovered were those of Owyhee county, the Atlanta 
and others in Alturas, and the Gold Hill in Boise county ; but, though 
great excitement was created for a while by the enormously rich and ex- 
tensive silver-lodes found in the former, reckless mismanagement and 
the working of the mines in the interest of stock manipulations, coupled 
with the high price of machinery and rate of wages, soon resulted in 
the same disastrous consequences experienced to a greater or less extent 
by all the Pacific coast mining States and Territories in their earlier 
history. 

" The revival of quartz-mining dates from the successful operations of 
the Gold Hill Mining Company, which, through good and economical 
management, succeeded in realizing large profits from ore which, I believe, 
on an average yields less than ten dollars per ton. Since that time many 
of the old Alturas and Owyhee mines have come to the front again, new 
ones have been steadily discovered, and for several years the lode-mining 
interest has decidedly overbalanced that of placer-mining. 

" The largest amount of bullion has undoubtedly been produced by the 
Owyhee mines, and the fact that they have been comparatively idle since 
1876 is almost exclusively due to the almost simultaneous absconding 
of the secretaries of the Mahogany, Ida Elmore, and Poorman companies 
with all their available funds, and the suspension of the Bank of Califor- 
nia, aggravated by the fact that nearly all the incorporated companies 
worked their mines for the sole purpose of bulling and bearing stocks in 
San Francisco. The latter is also the cause of the sudden collapse of one 
of the best base-metal camps of the coast, South Mountain. In that dis- 
trict are found numerous veins of argentiferous galena, the finest carbon- 
ates, unusually rich in silver, good iron ore for fluxing — in short, every- 
thing necessary to make the camps flourishing and prosperous — but, 



286 THE GREAT WEST. 

nevertheless, bad management succeeded in ruining the camp, and nothing 
has been done until this summer. 

" The mines of Alturas county have not produced as much this year as 
before, a large number of her miners having left to prospect in Lemhi 
county, where remarkably rich and extensive veins have been discovered 
during the last few years. 

" The lodes of Rocky Bar district are exceptionally rich, but narrow, 
varying generally from three to six feet in width, and the miners are 
laboring under great disadvantage in not having a good quartz-mill which 
will work their ores cheaply and to the best advantage. The Atlanta 
mines have been doing well, and the discoveries in Queen's River and 
Lake districts, and those on Wood River, will undoubtedly materially 
increase the production of the county next year. 

" Great excitement has been and still is prevailing about the discovery 
of remarkably rich lodes in the Yankee Fork district, Lemhi county. 
The veins in that camp are of an unusual width and richness, but so far 
the production has been small, as the absence of a wagon-road made it 
impossible to bring in heavy milling machinery, and outside of the richest 
ores, shipped principally to Salt Lake City for reduction, the working of 
ore has been carried on only in the two arrastras of Mr. Norton, owner 
of the Charles Dickens lode. A few weeks ago a wagon-road was com- 
pleted, and next year at least one good mill will be erected ; and as there 
is an enormous amount of ore in sight, Lemhi county mines will probably 
furnish the largest amount of precious metals during the next few years. 

" In Boise county, the Elmira Company, working the Wolverine, Crown 
Point, and Banner lodes in Banner district, has been steadily at work, 
taking out a large amount of silver, and, with some needed improvements 
in their reduction- works, they will be large producers next year. The 
Gold Hill Mining Company of Quartzburg has also, as usual, been work- 
ing their mill to its utmost capacity, and some of the late discoveries on 
Canon Creek, near Placerville, have produced some very rich ore. In 
the southern part of the county, eight to twelve miles from Boise City, 
quite a number of gold-bearing quartz-lodes have been discovered during 
the last year. So far, operations have been in most cases confined to pros- 
pecting and dead work, and as the ore is not very rich it requires the 
erection of a good mill, like that of the Gold Hill Company, to ensure 
profitable working of the same. 

" Northern Idaho, especially Idaho county, possesses a large number of 
gold- and silver-bearing veins, but there are no mills to work the ore, and 
not even a wagon-road to bring in machinery, and consequently they all 



IDAHO. 287 

lie idle ; the owners, being poor men, are unable to work and develop 
lodes without a market for their ore. 

" In Ada county several veins carrying exceedingly rich copper have 
been found, and some work done on them this year. There are also good 
silver- and galena-lodes in Mineral district, but little work has been done 
so far on account of the isolated situation of the camp. 

" It is impossible to furnish approximately correct data of the bullion 
production of all these mines, many of the owners refusing to give any 
information, but I think it perfectly safe to place it at not less than a mil- 
lion dollars. This looks little, but lode-mining in this Territory is still 
in its infancy, and surrounded by difficulties and drawbacks experienced 
in no other State or Territory, except perhaps Arizona. We have no 
railroad communication so far, many mining districts being even without 
a wagon-road, and consequently wages are high. Mining and milling 
machinery costs here two and three times as much as in more favored 
localities, and its absence in many districts makes the working of the 
mines beyond mere annual representation an impossibility for the poor 
owners ; but as it seems now to be a finally settled fact that the Utah 
Northern Railroad will traverse the Territory in close proximity to the 
principal mining districts, there is no doubt in my mind that the mines 
of Idaho in the course of a few years after the completion of this railroad 
will give her one of the leading positions among the bullion-producing 
States and Territories of the Union. 

" I have the honor to be, very respectfully, 

"A. Walters, United States Assayer. 

"Hon. Wm. P. Chandler, Surveyor- General of Idaho ." 

The following items respecting the development of the mines in the 
Yankee Fork mining district have been kindly furnished at my solicita- 
tion by Walter S. Shannon, Esq., United States deputy mineral surveyor 
and mining engineer, which I beg leave to present : 

The mines of Yankee Fork are principally gold-bearing quartz. The 
working of these did not commence until early last spring. Morrison's 
placer has been worked for some years with great success ; nuggets ha\-e 
frequently been found as large as hens' eggs. Over thirty-five thousand 
dollars have been expended during the last four years in constructing 
ditches, dams, etc. At present it is paying $1.25 per pan. This placer- 
mine is situated at the mouth of Jordan Creek, which empties into Yankee 
Fork River. 

The Custer mine is situated on the side of Mount Custer, nineteen 



288 THE GREAT WEST. 

hundred feet above Yankee Fork River and three miles north-east of 
Bonanza City. The ledge is between three and four hundred feet wide, 
and runs from top to bottom of the mountain, the ore assaying from $450 
to $650 per ton. The owners, Messrs. Heggin, Tevis, Hurst, and Pfieffer 
(Pfieffer superintendent), are working the mine, running a tunnel, so that 
the miners will be protected from snow in winter. A forty-stamp mill 
is in process of construction in San Francisco, which will be placed in 
position early the following spring. 

The Unknown mine, owned by the same parties, including Mr. George 
Grayson, is situated on the east side of the Custer mine, and is a con- 
tinuation of the Custer ledge, but containing rock which assays from $900 
to $1000 per ton. 

There are other mines situated on Mount Custer, but of a lower grade. 

Mount Estis mines, which are seven miles north-west of Bonanza City, 
are of a different formation from the Custer rock, being less flinty. 

The Montana mine is the principal one, owned by Captain Varney, 
who has a tunnel fifty feet from the surface. This rock assays from $6000 
to $7000 per ton, all free gold. The ledge between hanging-wall and 
foot- wall is eight feet. The captain has been shipping rock to the quartz- 
mill at Atlanta during the past summer. 

Estis mine, owned by Estis Bros., is situated near the Montana mine, 
and is estimated at the same value. The ledge is seven feet wide. Their 
rock at present is worked by an arrastra. 

Charles Dickens mine is situated on the forks of Jordan Creek and 
Yankee Fork River, on the east side of the hill, four hundred feet above 
the river. The tunnel follows the ledge sixty feet. The rock assays 
between $300 and $400 per ton. They have an arrastra, which is worked 
night and day. This mine is owned by William Norton, Esq. The 
rock from these mines, excepting the Montana and Estis, is roasting ore. 

As soon as stamp-mills are erected the owners of mines will commence 
work in earnest. At present the number of miners employed does not 
exceed three hundred, who command five dollars per day. The seasons 
are very short for mining purposes, and the want of a wagon-road has 
retarded the development of the mines. 

The Wood River district is situated south-easterly from Bonanza City, 
about sixty-five miles. The hills around the head of Wood River are a 
spur of Saw-Tooth range. The principal mines are situated at the head 
of Wood River, better known as " Ketchem's Camp." The character is 
chloride, and consists principally of silver and galena. All the rock 
from this district carries seventy-three per cent, of galena, and no mine 



IDAHO. 289 

assays less than $165 per ton of silver. Gold is very seldom found. 
The principal mines are the White Cloud, Pilgrim, Shamrock, Quimby, 
and Occident, which all assay more than $200 per ton, and as high as 
$900. Messrs. Ketchem & Shannon intend to put up a smelter early 
next spring. The altitude of this district is eight thousand four hundred 
feet above sea-level. A wagon-road is to be built next spring to 
the emigrant wagon-road, which is twenty miles south of Ketchem's 
Camp. 

Major Kobert M. McDowell, United States deputy mineral surveyor 
and mining engineer of Banner district, in response to my request, fur- 
nishes the. following statement relating to the mining interests in that 
and adjoining districts : 

The placer-grounds at Idaho City, and in the canons leading thereto, 
for a radius of fifteen miles, as a matter of history have been among the 
richest in the world. These are flanked by rich deposits of gold-rock in 
the Quartzburg district, where shafts have been sunk on the trend of the 
lode, one to the depth of seven hundred feet from the surface and two 
hundred and fifty feet below water-level, which is a greater depth than 
has been attained by any similar work north of Snake River. A number 
of valuable gold-mines, mostly operated by adits and tunnels (with quartz- 
mills), are located in the above last-named district and Summit Flats, and 
all are yielding profitably. The character of this quartz-carrying sul- 
phuret is free, and milling and reduction " kind " and inexpensive, cost- 
ing only from $5 to $6 per ton and yielding from $8 to $100 per ton. 
The deposits of pay ore, though located mainly in chimneys (ledge-mat- 
ter), are nevertheless easily traced, in most instances being confined be- 
tween walls of granite and gangue. Sometimes their courses are inter- 
cepted by porphyry-dikes. Of the mines in successful operation are 
Gold Hill, Sub Rosa, Ebenezer, and Balshaza. 

During the present year a rich gold-lode has been discovered on Moore's 
Creek Summit, eighteen miles eastwardly from Idaho City. A clean-up 
of fifteen tons gave a result of $110 per ton. 

Some eighty miles from Idaho City the great Saw-Tooth range, run- 
ning in a north-east and south-west course, towering far above lesser ele- 
vations called mountains, and having an approximate altitude of nine 
thousand feet above sea-level, with its imbedded strata of silver and 
gold quartz, invites labor and capital. Indians have prevented advances 
in that direction this season, but next year rich discoveries are anticipated. 

Banner district, Boise county, twenty-eight miles from Idaho City, 
north-east, in latitude 44° 30', is essentially a silver-mining region, and 



290 THE GREAT WEST. 

rapidly developing as such. In 1875 a twenty-stamp dry-crushing quartz- 
mill, roasting-furnace, shop, assay-office, etc. were erected, but owing to 
a deficiency in the skill of properly chloridizing the ore, and from other 
causes, no successful progress was made until within the past year, when 
it was purchased by the Elmira Silver Mining Company, capitalists from 
Elmira, New York. The production has been 3900 pounds of silver bul- 
lion, assaying 920 fine, from the 1st day of July last to the 1st day of 
October. About fifty men are employed in all departments, and the 
average yield of ore mined is from $75 to $85 per ton, by milling pro- 
cess. The absence of bases in these ores is notable, as shown by the 
following analysis: 

Silica (quartz) 92.4 

Sulphur 1.0 

Iron 6.0 

Arsenic 0.6 

Zinc traces 0.0 

100. 

Banner district yields chlorides (black sulphurets rarely), antimonial, 
arsenic, ruby, and native silver. The general direction of all the ledges 
thus far prospected or developed is north-east and south-west. Identifica- 
tion is not easy, as the ledges do not often outcrop upon the surface ; yet 
the silver-belt has been traced some ten miles, and has a width of less 
than a half mile. 

Some fifty claims are located, and while by assays some specimens have 
shown as high as $6000 and upward, from $50 to $100 is probably near 
the figure to be relied upon in actual milling process on chlorination up 
among the nineties. 

The veins do not seem to be continuous, but in pockets or chimneys, 
and are encased within granite and gangue of a white or light-yellow 
tinge, and are almost invariably accompanied with manganese, which as- 
sumes the thickness of half an inch to two inches, and is always indica- 
tive of a well-defined paying ledge. The ledges in this locality have not 
been sunk upon to sufficient depth to ascertain trend and dip as a gen- 
eral rule. Veins located on parallel ridges having the same course dip 
toward each other, and it is contended by miners and experts that each 
vein will preserve its identity to an inexhaustible depth. Many theories 
are advanced, but only actual sinking can demonstrate their nature. 

The Elmira Silver Mining Company have possessory titles to upward 
of twenty lodes, but are prosecuting work upon only three of the number 
— viz. Crown Point, Wolverine, and Banner. The first-named two have 
been entered by three shafts and two tunnels, and a well-defined vein 



IDAHO. 291 

averaging two feet in thickness (milling $85 per ton) developed from the 
surface-croppings down to a depth of two hundred feet. 

POPULATION. 

The isolated and inland situation of Idaho and the want of easy com- 
munication to its borders have prevented any rapid increase in population. 

Since the Territorial organization only the census of 1870 has been 
taken. The number shown by that enumeration was 20,588. Since that 
time there has been a steady and healthy growth, and the number may 
now reasonably be estimated at 27,000. 

TRANSPORTATION. 

Lying outside of all the great routes of travel and commerce, the only 
means of communication hitherto has been by tedious and toilsome jour- 
neys over unimproved roads, except the outlet by Snake and Columbia 
Rivers — navigable for light-draught steamboats — to one point in North- 
ern Idaho for a few months in each year. 

During the past and present year the Utah and Northern Railroad has 
been constructed from Franklin, at the southern boundary of the Terri- 
tory, through its eastern border, a distance of one hundred and fifty miles 
to Camas Station, its present terminus. This road will be extended to 
Montana at an early day. Surveys have been made during the present 
season for a line to the Columbia River vid Boise City, to connect with 
this road at or near Blackfoot Station. 

Freights are high and commercial intercourse restricted. Rates from 
Kelton — on the Central Pacific Railroad, the nearest railroad point; — are 
from three to five dollars per hundredweight to Boise City, and much 
more to most of the mining camps. 

The mountain-formation extending across the Territory near latitude 
44° north divides it into two parts as regards communication. There are 
no roads in the Territory connecting its northern and southern portions, 
and it seems to be an undertaking too expensive for the local authorities 
to build a wagon-road through this region, although the physical obstacles 
are not great. 

STOCK-GROWING. 

This interest is large and constantly increasing. The facilities afforded 
by pasture-ranges, covered with a luxuriant growth of bunch and other 
grasses indigenous to this soil and climate, limited only by accessibility 
to watering-places, early attracted the attention of the herdsman. Cattle 
and horses in numerous and extensive herds subsist the whole year 



292 THE GREAT WEST. 

through on these natural grasses, supplemented in winter by white sage, 
sweet and nutritious after being touched by the frosts of autumn. 

The herds are usually driven to the hills and mountain-slopes during 
summer, reserving the feed along the foot-hills and valleys, where but 
little snow falls and the temperature is moderate, for winter. Most stock- 
growers find their winter range near natural meadow-lands, where hay 
enough is secured to feed through the exceptional seasons when deep 
snows cover the ground. These winters are liable to occur once in from 
four to six years. 

The beef produced is of an excellent quality, and stall-feeding never 
resorted to. 

There being no statistics of stock made in the Territory, I will not 
attempt to state the number owned and herded within its bounds. It is 
estimated that twenty thousand cattle have been sold for the Eastern mar- 
kets this season from the western part of the Territory, and probably an 
equal or greater number from the northern and eastern portions. 

Wool-growing has not yet received much attention, although the soil 
and climate are well adapted to that interest. There are several flocks of 
sheep owned in the Territory, but the number is not large. 

Horses enough are raised to supply the increasing wants of the people. 

The profits to the careful and judicious stock-grower are large, and 
stated by one in the business to be not less than thirty-three and a third 
per cent, per annum on the capital invested. 

RESOURCES. 

The geographical position of Idaho is such that the various branches 
of industry depend more largely upon each other than in most States. 
Lying outside and beyond the main thoroughfares of commerce and 
travel, the surface broken into many high mountain-ranges, traversed by 
numerous rapid streams flowing in deep valleys, thus making the con- 
struction of roads costly and difficult, communication has been slow and 
tedious, and each settlement almost a community by itself and depending 
upon itself. 

The discovery of gold along the valleys of the streams first brought 
the miner, whose wants were supplied by pack-trains, bringing the 
barest necessaries of life at fabulous prices to the mining camps situated 
in its mountain-fastnesses. Following, came the agriculturist, seeking 
out the nearest arable valley to raise such vegetables as were indispen- 
sable to the miner ; and gradually, as the mining interest increased and 
spread over the various parts of the Territory where the precious metals 



IDAHO. 293 

were found, so gradually grew the agricultural interest to supply the local 
demand only, followed by the mercantile to supply both, thus making all 
to hinge upon the mining interest. As it was at the early settlement of 
the Territory, so it is in a great measure now. 

Manufacturing, which might reasonably have been expected to follow, 
has not ; one of the reasons for which may be the high j)rice of labor, 
mechanics commanding from four to eight dollars per day. Another may 
be found in the fact that there is no centre of trade or commerce for any 
considerable portion of the Territory, each community or settlement sup- 
plying itself from the nearest business-point, either within or without 
the Territory as most convenient. 

Flour-mills sufficient to manufacture flour for local demands are estab- 
lished at various points, and also saw-mills to cut the lumber required for 
home use by the settler. 

Near Boise City three considerable irrigating-ditches have been con- 
structed, for which water is taken from Boise River and distributed over 
nearly sixty thousand acres of most productive land, which without irri- 
gation was barren and worthless. Many other ditches have been con- 
structed and large quantities of land reclaimed, but mostly by each 
farmer for his own use. No systematic and organized effort has yet 
been made for the construction of large and expensive ditches to reclaim 
the thousands of acres lying along the valleys of the streams, that need 
only the fertilizing touch of water to make that which is now an arid 
desert laugh with bounteous harvests. 

The subject of irrigation and the reclamation of the irrigable lands in 
this Territory is one of vast importance to its future growth and pros- 
perity, and seems worthy the early attention of the government. There 
are yet small tracts of vacant land lying along the smaller streams that 
are available for the settler of small means, and the present laws for 
their disposal appear applicable; but there are large plateaus of irri- 
gable land lying in Snake River Valley that will require a larger capital 
to reclaim than private parties under the present land laws 'will care to 
invest. Either large tracts should be sold to parties who would construct 
and maintain ditches, and depend upon the sale of the lands for their 
remuneration, or some general system should be adopted by the govern- 
ment, and the construction carried on by it as the needs of the country 
require. The land classed as grazing- or pasture-land is worthless for 
any other purpose, and unsurveyed, and if ever disposed of must be in 
extensive tracts. 

Much of the timber used for fuel is found along the borders of the 



294 THE GREAT WEST. 

streams, and consists principally of cottonwood, poplar, and willow, 
is taken from land owned by the parties using it, and is very limited in 
quantity. The fir and pine timber, valuable for building and commerce, 
grows on the mountain-land, and much of it is found on steep, craggy 
hillsides and in inaccessible mountain-valleys, and is so difficult of access 
and so distant from the farm-lands that no more is cut than the actual 
necessities of the settlers require. During the summer fires rage over 
extensive tracts, destroying immense quantities. 

The material advance of Idaho is not rapid, but steady and continuous. 
The advantages from the building of the Utah and Northern Railroad on 
its eastern border are already seen in the settlement of large tracts of land 
along its route and a great increase in mining activity in that part of the 
Territory. The principal exports from the Territory are gold and silver 
from its mines and cattle from its hills. Products of the farm, even if 
in excess of the wants of the people, could not pay cost of transporta- 
tion to other markets and compete with them in price. The hostility of 
the Indians in this and the past two years has done much to retard im- 
migration and prevent the settlement of remote and isolated valleys. 
Notwithstanding all the drawbacks heretofore encountered, the prosperity 
of the people appears to be satisfactory. Better buildings are being 
erected both in town and country, and general thrift and contentment 
seem to prevail. 



IDAHO. 

BY M. BEAYMAN, GOVERNOR 



THIS year (1879) has been one of general thrift and prosperity. Ag- 
riculture has been remunerative. Mining has developed with remark- 
able success in various parts. Many thousands have been added to our pop- 
ulation. Schools are encouraged. General health has prevailed. In the 
administration of justice and the management of public affairs great 
advances have been made, and the interests of the government and Terri- 
tory cared for with improving economy and fidelity. With the advent 
of railroads, and the improvement of highways now in progress and in 
prospect, a large immigration may be looked for, and the facilities for bring- 
ing in machinery and supplies will cheapen transportation and give life 



IDAHO. 295 

to enterprise. The mild climate of Idaho, its rich resources, its health- 
fulness, its soil capable of such rich returns, will in time, under favorable 
legislation, make it the home of a vigorous and enlightened people. 

BOUNDARIES. 

The Territory of Idaho, /rom its southern base upon Nevada and Utah, 
in latitude 42° north, to the British possessions at 49°, covers a length 
of about four hundred and ten miles. In width it is two hundred and 
fifty-seven miles at its southern and sixty miles at its northern limit. It 
is separated from the State of Oregon and the Territory of Washington 
on the west by a direct meridian line, broken by the course of Snake 
River, which forms its western boundary for about one hundred and 
fifty miles. On the east its wide base lies against the Territory of Wy- 
oming, while the Bitter Root, an almost impassable range of mountains 
forming a natural boundary, separates it from the Territory of Montana. 
This peculiarity of conformation accounts for the inconvenient shape of 
the Territory. 

Since the organization of Idaho, under provision of the act of March 
3, 1863, its area has been reduced to form other Territories, until it now 
comprises 86,294 square miles, equal to 55,228,160 acres. An approxi- 
mate estimate of the quality of these lands will afford — suitable for culti- 
vation in their natural state, 15,000,000 acres; capable of reclamation 
by irrigation, 12,000,000 acres; grazing-lands, 5,000,000 acres; timber- 
lands, 10,000,000 acres; mining tracts, 8,000,000 acres; the 4,228,160 
acres of desert are destitute of timber and minerals and beyond the reach 
of irrigation. Large portions of the mining tracts bear timber also. 




ARIZONA. 

BY GENERAL JOHN C. FREMONT, GOVERNOR. 



AEIZONA has remained shut up and barred out from progress by its 
inaccessibility. There were neither railroads to it nor in it, nor any 
roads other than those afforded by the natural surface of the ground, and 
these are rendered more than ordinarily difficult by the hot, dry, and sandy 
or stony ground over which lie the approaches to the Territory. In the 
Territorial laws these are spoken of as desert roads. 

Lately it has been made possible to reach Arizona on rail from the 
East by travelling along the 42d parallel of latitude down to San Fran- 
cisco, in longitude 122°, and thence south-eastwardly backward 720 miles 
to Yuma, east of longitude 115° and south of latitude 33°. This isola- 
tion has kept it shut out from immigration and precluded the develop- 
ment which its great resources would otherwise have commanded. The 
language habitually applied to it is very descriptive of its remoteness. 
Californians and Arizonians alike speak of going oidside when travelling 
to Arizona, and inside when returning to the surrounding territory. 

Broken ranges of mountains, swelling occasionally into lofty peaks and 
pine-covered masses, and alternating evenly with elevated valleys or 
mountain-basins of greater or less size, represent in general terms the 
face of the country in Arizona. Its water-ways are the Colorado and 
Gila Rivers with their tributaries, of which none enter either stream in 
the lower part of its course. The valley of the Colorado, between its 
river-hills or bordering mountains, is dry, stony, and barren, the moun- 
tains naked rock. Crossing these in journeying from Ehrenberg east- 
ward, a traveller in spring would find this country covered with bloom, 
the shrubs and trees being represented mainly by acacias and cacti, and 
the ground covered with low-flowering plants among grasses growing 
thinly. Except for some shrub-like trees and gigantic cactus (Saguara), 
ocotillo, and yucca trees, the ridges herealong are still of naked, glisten- 

296 



ARIZONA. 297 

ing, and black or barren rock, showing no signs of water. The acacias, 
Palo verde, and other trees crowd down into the dry stream-beds, reaching 
after the water below the sands, but the ocotillo and the tree-cactus delight 
in the stony and dry mountain-sides. In the rainy season these stream- 
beds are short-lived torrents. This is the country traversed by the desert 
roads. Bat this character of desert, applied to the valleys, comes only 
from the heated air and absence of water, and not absence of vegeta- 
tion. A running stream would make anywhere here a garden. 

After some seventy miles, as the crow flies, over such country, what 
may be called fertile mountains are reached ; that is to say, mountains more 
or less covered with shrubs and grass, and having springs and running 
streams, and affording good cattle-ranges. Continuing eastward, the 
country in this respect steadily improves, until, after travelling over 
about a hundred miles of air-distance from Ehrenberg, scattering ju- 
nipers of very sturdy growth appear several feet in diameter, with here 
and there small oaks and locust trees; and presently the road enters 
among pines, which thenceforward generally cover the more upland 
parts of the country to the eastward. 

The elevation here is probably 5000 feet in the valleys, the surround- 
ing mountains rising several thousand feet higher. On the higher ranges, 
such as the San Francisco and Mogollon, these open woodlands become 
extensive forests, where the pines reach sometimes a solid growth of six 
feet in diameter. From Prescott the San Francisco Mountains show 
grandly in the horizon of hills, some sixty-five miles away to the north- 
east, and 12,700 feet above the sea. These and the Mogollon Mountains 
are the principal water-sheds of Arizona, rising from elevated plateaus of 
6000 or 7000 feet into peaks between 9000 and 13,000 feet above the sea. 

In contradistinction to the Eastern States, where the streams maintain 
themselves in gathering strength from mountain to sea, dryness is one of 
the striking features of this whole elevated region. Streams and springs 
are few and far apart. The larger streams gather no affluents, but waste 
themselves in absorption and evaporation, and the smaller ones usually 
sink and disappear under the first valley which they enter, where the 
soil is generally light and loose enough to absorb them. But the water 
can there always be found — in the lower country at variable depths of 
fifty to two hundred and fifty feet, and usually only a few feet below the 
surface in many of the upland valleys. This may give the necessary 
provision of water for the farms in the valleys, while the mountains fur- 
nish it sufficiently for stock. There are two seasons of falling weather — 
the heavy summer rains, when the washes and stream-beds become tern- 



298 THE GREAT WEST. 

porary torrents, and the winter season of rains and snow. Now, at the 
end of October, the falling weather of the winter has not yet commenced 
except in the high mountains. The days are warm, the sky is unin- 
terruptedly cloudless, but ice makes at night, and a light snow has 
just fallen on the San Francisco Mountain. The grass there is be- 
ginning to dry up, and the northern face of the mountain is probably 
covered with snow. 

The Little Colorado and Salt River regions are reported to be the 
granaries of the Territory. Their valleys are becoming garden-spots, 
and the bordering mountains great stock-ranges, where the cattle are 
sometimes too fat to be driven. Like California, the country is favor- 
able to animal life. In the Salt River Valley there are probably 100,000 
acres under cultivation ; in the Gila Valley, between the Pima villages 
and the mouth of the canon, about 50,000 ; in the Santa Cruz Valley, 
about 25,000 ; and 25,000 more in all the southern district. In the Salt 
River Valley the amount under cultivation is being rapidly augmented 
to the full extent of the water-supply. On the San Pedro River the 
land is sparsely occupied, and mostly for grazing ; and farther to the east- 
ward the country is better adapted to grazing than agriculture. Many 
years ago I foirnd on the San Pedro and in the neighboring country many 
wild cattle which had belonged to ranchos now deserted, where the people 
had been killed or driven off by Indians. So far as my present know- 
ledge goes, the grazing and farming lands comprehend an area about 
equal to that of the State of New York. 

The climate of Arizona depends of course upon latitude and elevation. 
Heat is the dominant feature, and this in the lower country is of an inten- 
sity seemingly not due to the latitude alone. In the dry, naked valley of 
the Colorado River the summer heat is intense, and the season of summer 
encroaches largely upon spring and autumn. Over the eastern part of 
Southern Arizona it is the same. North of the Gila River, and fifty 
miles east of the Colorado, the heat is already tempered by the elevation, 
and farther into the interior the increased elevation and wood-covered 
mountains make a pleasant and healthy climate. South of the Gila the 
open, low, dry, and hot region extends farther to the eastward, but the 
eastern half offers a fine country, increasing in good character to the 
south up to and beyond the boundary-line. Generally speaking, the 
climate is noticeably healthy. The heat of the sun does not produce the 
fatal effects of extreme hea't in the moist climates of the Atlantic coast, 
and though the country itself may be said to have regular chill and fever, 
varying usually in temperature more than 30° between three o'clock in 



ARIZONA. 299 

the afternoon and three o'clock in the morning, this disease is almost un- 
known to its people. No instance of it has been known on the Colo- 
rado River, and though there is something of intermittent fever at Tucson, 
it is thought due rather to the alternate wetting and drying of the ground 
by irrigation than to any climatic influence. 

But the chief industry of Arizona — that upon which the others will 
mainly depend, and that upon which, in fact, the Territory depends for 
value — consists in the development of its mineral wealth. It is pre-emi- 
nently a mineral region, capable of sustaining a great mining population. 
Without enumerating others, silver, gold, and copper seem to be the ores 
most generally diffused throughout the Territory, and among these silver 
is the characteristic. Silver, in combination with gold, copper, lead, and 
other metals, extends in numerous veins of greater or less size and value 
from the Colorado Eiver on the west to the eastern boundary-line of the 
Territory. These have been partly resolved into districts, where, up to 
this time, mines or lodes of greater value have been discovered grouped 
together in belts or basins. 

The Mineral Park district has a belt of this kind which is reported to 
be nearly a hundred miles long, carrying between porphyry walls a mile 
and a half breadth of productive ore-matter, which is interspersed with 
veins, principally chlorides of silver. These are said to be very rich, 
reaching several hundred dollars the ton. The whole mass is said to 
carry silver. 

The Bradshaw district is said to be full of large, permanent veins, upon 
some of which mines have been opened that are producing ores of extra- 
ordinary value. I mention these as having come more particularly to my 
knowledge since my arrival, but similar reports are coming in from other 
parts of the Territory, and more especially from the south-eastern ex- 
tremity, where veins have been opened which give promise of greater 
richness in gold and silver than any hitherto discovered. In the imme- 
diate neighborhood of Prescott are rich mines. Want of transportation, 
and consequent want of population and money, together with the sense of 
insecurity still existing, have prevented a full knowledge of these lodes as 
well as a development of those already known. 

Left to themselves in the mean time, many settlers, instead of becoming 
farmers in grain, have become small farmers in gold and silver, locating 
veins or placer-grounds which they work themselves. 

These gold or silver farms, as they may be called, yield a small but 
sure product, for which any town is the market. In Arizona are found 
the only instances within my knowledge where three or four men work- 



300 THE GREAT WEST. 

ing together, without money or outside aid, have managed to develop 
veins into regular silver-mines, which have already yielded several hun- 
dred thousand dollars, with a promise of still greater success. But these 
are the solitary examples of opening large mines without money. The 
" silver farms," as I have designated them, are smaller enterprises. By 
a moderate use of money in directing and aiding this kind of labor the 
general government might come in aid of this industry, and open out a 
prospect for employment to the large class who of late years have been 
suffering from want of it, and the utmost exertion of whose skill and in- 
telligence has not been able to command a support. Aided by the gov- 
ernment in a way which might be indicated, any man might here find 
room for his labor, needing only his own resolute, stout work to pick for- 
tune from the earth. 

Gold in veins and placers is variously found throughout the Territory. 
Like Missouri and Utah, Arizona has her Iron Mountain, and copper 
ores of rich character, carrying with them silver and gold, are found in 
great force. A large percentage of copper is found in the upper work- 
ings of silver ores. Many years ago, and before our occupation of the 
country, I found in Southern Arizona the trail of wagous engaged in 
transporting copper ore from the Upper Gila to the city of Chihuahua, 
the silver and gold found in the copper being sufficient to defray the cost 
of the long and hazardous journey. Notwithstanding the desultory work- 
ing of the mines, the actual weekly shipment of bullion, by way of Yuma, 
to California, is about one hundred thousand dollars. 

There is a Territorial prison supported by the Territory, and located 
by law at Yuma. It is managed by a board of Territorial penitentiary 
directors, who audit claims and make such rules and regulations as they 
think proper for the discipline and management of the penitentiary. 

The Legislative Assembly of Arizona meets biennially at the capital on 
the first Monday in January. Representation is apportioned according 
to population, and the members of the Assembly are elected by counties 
at the general election held throughout the Territory every two years on 
the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. 

Every male citizen of the United States, and every male citizen of 
Mexico who shall have elected to become a citizen of the United States 
under the treaty of peace exchanged and ratified at Queretaro in 1848 
and the Gadsden treaty of 1854, and every male person who shall have 
declared on oath before a competent court of record his intention to be- 
come a citizen of the United States, and shall have taken an oath to 
support the Constitution and government of the United States, of the 



ARIZONA. 301 

age of twenty-one years, who shall have been a resident of the Territory 
one year next preceding the election, and of the county or precinct in 
which he claims his vote ten days, and whose name is enrolled on the 
great register of such county, shall be entitled to vote at all elections 
which are now or may be hereafter authorized by law. 



ABIZONA. 

BY JOHN WASSON, SURVEYOR-GENERAL. 



ACCORDING to departmental estimate made some years ago, Ari- 
zona contains just about 73,000,000 acres of land, 5,000,000 of 
which are surveyed. The general character of the topography, soil, pro- 
portion of arable land, productions, pasturage, minerals, timber, water, 
etc. is the same as that of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and 
Idaho. The Territory was" created by act of Congress approved in Feb- 
ruary, 1863. For ten years its progress was slow, because of the con- 
stant hostilities of the Indians, its isolation, and lack of speedy and 
cheap transportation. The United States census of 1870 showed a pop- 
ulation of 9658, exclusive of Indians, but owing to the danger of Indian 
attacks and the refusal of the military authorities to furnish the marshal 
with available assistance, he made no eifort to enumerate some settle- 
ments. Under authority of Territorial law a census was taken in 1876, 
showing about 30,000, exclusive of Indians; but the enumeration was 
made by and under special direction of the several counties, and as legis- 
lative representation was based thereon, and the location of the capital 
depended on the action of the legislature thus formed, the said census 
was made to show a much larger population than existed. Conserva- 
tive estimates place the present population, exclusive of Indians, at from 
30,000 to 33,000, with a steady and rapid increase. The population of 
nearly all the towns is visibly increasing, and new towns and mining 
camps have sprung up during this year. 

There are three marked divisions of surface-land in Arizona — viz. val- 
ley, mountain and mesa, or table — their areas rating in the order named. 



NEVADA. 



"VTEVADA is a part of the territory ceded to the United States by 
-L^ Mexico in the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, February 22, 1848. 
It was at first a part of California Territory, and was subsequently at- 
tached to Utah. It was constituted a Territory in March, 1861, with 
somewhat smaller boundaries than at present. Its admission as a State 
was discussed in 1863, and a convention called to form a constitution ; 
but the constitution was rejected, on the ground that the population was 
insufficient for the maintenance of a State government. In 1864 an 
enabling act was passed, under which a constitutional convention was 
called, met July 4, 1864, and agreed upon a constitution, under which 
the State is still governed. The constitution was ratified, and Nevada 
admitted into the Union as a State October 31, 1864. Additions were 
made to its territory by Congressional enactment in 1866. Its immense 
mineral wealth foreshadows for it a brilliant future. This State has an 
area of about 81,539 square miles, or 52,194,960 acres. 

PHYSICAL FEATURES. 

The greater portion of Nevada is included in what is known as the 
Great American Basin, which has for its surroundings the Sierra Nevada 
on the west and the Wahsatch Mountains on the east. It is bounded 
north and south by cross-ranges, and has no outlet for its waters. This 
vast region is a table-land about four thousand feet above the sea, and 
the mountains in this vicinity rise from one to eight thousand feet above 
the level of the sea. About twelve thousand square miles in the south- 
east of the State are outside of this basin, and belong to the Colorado 
River Basin, whose lofty table-lands and deep canons have been else- 
where described. The Sierra Nevada Mountains constitute the western 
boundary of the State, their eastern slopes only being included within it. 
Most of the mountain-ranges are parallel to each other, and have a gen- 

302 



NEVADA. 303 

eral course from north to south. In the south-west is an isolated range, 
the White Mountains. The eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada and the 
Humboldt, East Humboldt, and Toyable ranges have a considerable num- 
ber of streams, which, however, disappear very suddenly from the sur- 
face, and reappear as lakes or pools farther on. The valleys watered by 
these streams are in part fertile, but their lowest portions are occupied by 
muddy pools, impassable in winter from the depth of the mud. 

The agricultural lands of Nevada are estimated at 17,608,960 acres; 
reclaimable swamp-lands, 74,880 acres ; mountain-range land, only avail- 
able for grazing, and that during only a part of the year, 21,520,280 
acres; and barren, sandy, and worthless lands, 2,151,680 acres. It is 
doubtful if there are, or have been within the last hundred years or more, 
any active volcanoes in Nevada, though some of the peaks have shown 
symptoms threatening eruption ; but no one can traverse its mountains 
and valleys without finding abundant evidence of the great extent of vol- 
canic action in the past. 

The surface of the valleys and plains is almost entirely Tertiary, 
Quaternary, or Alluvial in some of the lower portions of the valleys, but 
everywhere the numerous mountain-ranges have a uniform constitution, 
the Azoic and metamorphic rocks being upheaved, granite or gneiss and 
trachyte, rhyolite, and basalt above, and every ridge is crowned with 
Silurian rocks, limestone, sandstone, etc., all crystallized by the intense 
heat through which they have passed. On many of the bleak and bare 
mountain-sides, utterly devoid of vegetation, the lava is still visible, 
though of course changed by the lapse of time. This Great Basin must 
have been in ancient geologic times the bed of a vast sea until the sub- 
sequent upheaval, which may have been aided by some subterranean 
drainage of the waters. The region outside this Great Basin, belonging 
to the Colorado Basin, is Eozoic and Silurian in about equal areas. 
There are marked evidences of volcanic action. 

MINERALS. 

Gold, except in combination with silver, is not abundant, but some of 
the argentiferous ores contain a large amount of gold in combination, 
and this seems to increase with the depth of the mines. The Oomstock 
Lode and Consolidation companies, since the great progress made in Sutro 
Tunnel, are yielding increased amounts of gold, much free gold being 
found in the ore-veins. In the Humboldt and Walker River regions 
gold quartz-veins of considerable promise have been discovered. Silver 
is, however, the staple mineral product of Nevada, and the yield of this 



304 . THE GREAT WEST. 

metal is increasing with great rapidity. The silver-lodes are found in 
almost every part of the State, some yielding from $65 to $100 to the 
ton, others ranging from $450 to $2500 or more to the ton. The number 
of mines in this State is very large, and new mines are constantly being 
opened. In the autumn of 1874 the number of mines was 243 in twelve 
counties, and the product of gold and silver for that year was $35,402,263, 
of which $22,000,000 came from Comstock Lode. The Sutro Tunnel is 
three miles and a half in length, and passes through all the ramifications 
of the Comstock Lode in Virginia City and Gold Hill, draining the mines 
at a depth of nearly three thousand feet. 

The other minerals of Nevada are lead, copper, and iron in various 
forms. There are numerous mineral springs and some geysers in the 
State. 

AGRICULTURE. 

While Nevada will never be largely agricultural, it possesses a suffi- 
ciency of arable lands to supply, with the aid of irrigation, possibly the 
needs of such a population as it is destined to have, and its mountain- 
slopes and some of its valleys will prove to be among the best grazing- 
lands of the Pacific region. Its timber-lands proper, those on which 
grew the lofty pines of the Sierras, are of very moderate extent, not ex- 
ceeding 400,000 acres, and much of this is being cut off to supply the 
demands of the mining districts. The flora of the State, except on the 
Sierras, differs materially from that of California. Of the sixty-five 
natural families of plants catalogued in the State, many are repre- 
sented by a large number of genera and species. 

ANIMALS. 

The animals are those of the Pacific slope — the grizzly bear, the Mex- 
ican bear, cougar, wild-cat, lynx, Rocky Mountain sheep, antelope, deer 
(two or three species) ; and most of the smaller game, including the sage- 
hare, sage-grouse, are the most characteristic mammals. The larger lakes 
are stocked with trout, salmon-trout, etc., but in the shallow lakes these 
do not succeed well. 

CLIMATE. 

The climate of Nevada is characterized by great extremes. In winter 
snow falls upon the summit of the mountains, though there is not much 
in the valleys. The air is dry, the winds strong, and, though the sun- 
shine is bright and pleasant at midday, the nights are often intensely cold. 
In January the mercury falls to from 10° to 16° below zero in the valleys, 
and much lower in the mountains : but this severe cold lasts but a few 



NEVADA. 305 

days, though it may be repeated. About the last of February the ap- 
proach of spring is announced, though there may be piercing winds and 
sharp frosts, chilling rain and snow, in March, and even April. Thunder- 
storms of great severity occur in April and May, and into June. When 
these have passed away the dry season prevails until October throughout 
the western, central, and northern parts of the State. The air becomes 
heated, and whirlwinds and spiral columns of dust are raised to great 
heights. The temperature rises to 100° or 105°, but usually only for a 
few days. It falls every night to between 70° and 80°, and does not 
average in August more than 90° at midday. In the eastern part of the 
State there are frequent thunderstorms in summer and till September 15, 
and the heat is longer continued and more oppressive. There is less intense 
cold, with very little snow or frost in winter, in South-eastern Nevada, 
and the culture of cotton and the sugar-cane has been attempted there. 
The climate is remarkably healthy and invigorating. 

EDUCATION. 

Education is carefully looked after, public schools generally being ac- 
cessible to all. The State University, located at Elko, affords oppor- 
tunities for higher education. Among the State eleemosynary institutions 
may be named the Orphans' Home at Carson, which, though yet in its 
infancy, constitutes the germ of a commendable institution. 

Carson City, the capital, had in 1870 a population of 3042. Virginia 
City, the largest city in the State, had in 1879 an estimated population 
of 25,000. The principal towns are Gold Hill and Hamilton, each 
having from four to five thousand inhabitants. 



THE SUTEO TUNNEL. 

BY ADOLPH SUTRO. 



IN the construction of this tunnel we had a severe struggle to get along. 
On the one hand we had people opposing us, and on the other hand 
we encountered the difficulty of raising money sufficient to carry on the 
work ; and that was about the " toughest job " of all. But still we suc- 
ceeded. There were some gentlemen who took broad views of the inat- 

20 



306 THE GREAT WEST. 

ter, and, partly through their influence and aid, the money was forthcom- 
ing, and after that we got along reasonably well. 

In one way and another, we encountered many difficulties in doing the 
work. We had to work our way inch by inch through solid rock. In 
these tunnelling operations we had first to drill a dozen or twenty holes, 
charge them with giant-powder, explode the blast, then wait for the 
smoke of the powder to disappear before we could commence loading the 
debris on the cars for removal. Under the circumstances one cannot get 
ahead very fast ; but, altogether, we made quite as rapid progress as has 
ever been made in any similar undertaking. In fact, our progress was 
more rapid than was the construction of the Hoosac, the Mont Cenis, the 
St. Gothard, or any other tunnel. 

A CHAPTER ON MULES. 

Up to the present time, all the transportation has been done by means 
of mules. We found it more convenient to use mules than to use steam, 
because under ground steam is fatal to life. We are now preparing to 
use compressed-air motors, built on the same plan as those in use om Sec- 
ond Avenue in New York. We have now two motors building in Eng- 
land. We have been using mules for years, and have found out that 
they are tolerably good animals ; but there is a prejudice against mules, 
though they are very intelligent. I think that I could write a chapter on 
their traits, as I have had a very extensive experience with them. It has 
been said that they have a strong propensity for kicking, but I have never 
seen them kick when in the tunnel. They become very tame under 
ground ; in fact, they become the miners' pets. The men become quite 
attached to them, and as the shift-mules pass along by the men at lunch 
they will often receive from one a piece of pie, from another a cup of 
coffee, etc. When a signal is given to fire a blast the mules understand 
the signal, and will try to get out of the way of it, just as the men do. 
Of course, under ground it is very dark, and the mules become so ac- 
customed to the darkness that when they go out into the sunlight 
they cannot see very well, and when they go back from the sunlight into 
the mine they cannot see at all. So we are in the habit of covering one 
eye with a piece of cloth whenever they go out, and keep the covering 
over the eye until they go into the tunnel again ; we then remove the 
cloth ; so they have one good eye to see with. We had to adopt this plan 
for preserving their sight, because the mule is so stubborn that he will 
not pull unless he can see his way ahead. We have found out another 
thing about mules. We tried horses at first, but we found that whenever 



NEVADA. 307 

anything touched the ears of a horse he would throw up his head and 
break his skull against the overhanging rock ; but if you touch a mule's 
ears he drops his head. For that reason we could not use horses ; we 
employed mules, and they have answered very well. 

OBSTACLES TO PROGRESS. 

In carrying on a work of this kind we meet all sorts of difficulties. 
Now and then we would get indications of water. The men would put in 
a blast, and the water would pour out in a perfect torrent, and the men 
would have, at times, to quit temporarily to escape it, and wait until the 
water had subsided sufficiently, so that they could go to drilling again. 
Every now and then we would come to a clay that would swell and cave, 
so as to reduce our progress of one hundred and fifty feet (and afterward 
with improved machinery of three hundred feet) per month to less than 
fifty feet per month. Sometimes we could not keep the roof up. As 
soon as we would get started a little way in our work of excavation the 
rock would yield, and hundreds of feet would come pressing down on the 
timbers with such force that it was almost impossible to resist it. The 
worst ground that we came to was the swelling ground. This is some- 
times clay, and sometimes it is rock. The moment you dig into it, it 
swells out, and no matter what size of timbers you use, it will snap them 
oif as if they were but matches. Nothing will resist it. You must let 
it swell. In one place the swelling was so great that the track swelled 
up a foot or two seven different times, and each time we had to cut it 
down. The timbers used are a post and a cap. The pressure on this 
cap would be so great that the post would be pressed through the cap in 
twenty-four hours, just as though the cap were a piece of cheese. The 
only way to keep the timbers from breaking in such ground was to em- 
ploy men to ease up the ground behind the timbers. That is to say, they 
would take away the rock or clay from behind the posts from time to 
time, until, after a year or so, the ground settles down to its natural state 
and does not swell any longer. We have very little trouble of that sort 
now ; but I suppose that we shall encounter it every now and then as we 
go on with the lateral tunnels. 

BAD AIR. 

The greatest obstacle encountered by us was the heat and the poor air. 
Our last opening to the surface was at Shaft No. 2, about nine thousand 
feet from the tunnel-entrance. From there we had to go to the Comstock 
Lode, a distance of eleven thousand feet, without any natural air connec- 



308 THE GREAT WEST. 

tion. After we got in to a distance of seventeen thousand feet from the 
mouth of the tunnel the heat became so intense and the air so bad that it 
was almost impossible to keep the air sufficiently cool and pure to sustain 
life. There was not oxygen enough in the air to make our candles burn. 
Although we blew in air by means of blowers and air-compressors, still 
at times there was not sufficient air to enable the men to work. In the 
place where the men were at work we could generally manage to keep 
the air sufficiently pure, but at some distance back from the face of the 
tunnel the air was so bad that one could hardly exist. In fact, in going 
through these portions of the tunnel the men would often give out ; and 
as for the mules, we could not get them there at all. A mule would 
make straight for the air-pipe, and you could not get him away. We 
had one mule that would not go away from the air-pipe at all. They 
beat him, but it was of no use. He had to be carried out, and that mule 
escaped; he never went into the tunnel again. A shift-mule would 
always want to go to where the stream of air was rushing in, and he 
would monopolize it all to himself. He would never leave it ; but would 
stand there, and as he bobbed his head up and down past the pipe you 
would hear the air whistling by him. 

ACCIDENTS. 

We had some sad accidents happen. The air-pipes are made of gal- 
vanized iron, and the leakage is prevented by wrapping the joints with 
canvas, which is covered with tar or with white-lead. I recollect that 
one day after a blast had been fired one Garnett, the man whose duty it 
was to keep these joints wrapped, went forward (he was nearly fainting) 
to the end of the air-pipe near the face of the tunnel, but before he got 
there he fell down in a swoon. When the blaster went forward to ex- 
amine the blast which had just been made, he found that two of the 
holes had not gone off, and so he re-connected them and fired the blast 
while this poor man was lying on the ground. It did not kill him, although 
he was riddled with rocks. He had about a hundred large and small pieces 
of rock in him, one being in the back of his head. I thought that he 
could not live for ten minutes, but he is alive now and as well as ever. 
The most curious part of it is, that for a long time previous this man had 
been in ill-health, and that application of rocks cured him. He has told 
me often since, "That confounded thing cured me." It was rather a 
severe cure, but it was effectual. 

As we approached Shaft No. 2, nine thousand feet from the tunnel-en- 
trance, which had been abandoned some time previous because it had 



.NEVADA. 309 

filled by a great influx of water to the depth of about nine hundred feet 
we bored a diamond drill-hole into it, and the pressure of that column of * 
water, nine hundred feet high, was so great that it threw out the drill-rod 
and cast it a distance of several hundred feet, although the rod weighed 
several hundred pounds. 

CARES. 

Not long ago some timbers broke down, and the report came to me that 
a man had been killed. We found, however, that he was not injured, 
but that he had been caved on and could not get out. I started in with 
the doctor to see how he was getting on. We found that all the work 
had stopped, and that the man, who had been working in the ditch which 
we were then constructing in the floor of the tunnel for the purpose of 
carrying off the hot water, had been caved on and become surrounded by 
a lot of loose, fine gravel up to his chest, and that the water running in 
around this gravel had packed it so tightly that the man could not move. 
We had to get him out in some way, and so three or four men (which 
were as many as could get into the confined space) got down alongside of 
him and tried to dig him out ; but as fast as they would dig the gravel 
would cave in again. When I reached the place the man had been fast 
for three or four hours. The miners had built dams above in the tunnel 
to stop the water from flowing down, for if the water had been permitted 
to come down it would soon have risen to his mouth, and would have 
drowned him. He was so fast that he could only move the upper part of 
his body a little. I urged the men to work away with all their might at 
the dam to keep the water back ; but after a while they reported that it 
was of no use — that the water was rising above the dam. We did not 
want to see the man killed, and used every effort to rescue him. I told 
the men to pass a rope under his legs and try to pull him out. We 
thought we had better pull him out, even if it should injure him some- 
what, rather than let him drown ; but as soon as we began to pull he 
commenced to cry out, so that we had to give that plan up. Then the 
men dug again for a while, until the foreman came and said that if we 
did not get him out within ten minutes the water would be down in such 
volume as to drown him. Then the men worked again with the rope for 
dear life. At last they got one leg out ; then they gave another jerk, and 
brought the man out. 

HOSPITAL. 

As I have remarked, we employ a surgeon. There were many accidents, 
although we had less than there were in other works. In the Hoosac 
Tunnel one hundred and eighty-five men were killed in the construction 



310 THE GREAT WEST. 

of the work. In our tunnel but twelve men were killed, and I do not 
think that of the twelve more than three or four were killed by anything 
actually happening in the tunnel itself. I told our men several years ago 
that every man employed by the company must pay three dollars per 
month toward a hospital fund — that the company could not afford to give 
the men all the attention that they ought to receive in case of accidents. 
The men remonstrated a good deal against this ; they did not wish to 
spend their money in that way ; each one thought that no accidents would 
happen to himself; but I made this payment compulsory, and after a 
while the men became reconciled to it. We employed a physician and 
opened a drug-store. If a man was injured he received every attention. 
Pie had the care of nurses, physicians, and medicine. But these miners 
are all members of an association, the Miners' Union, which does not per- 
mit any man to work a shift of eight hours under four dollars per day. 
All the mine-managers have agreed to yield to their wishes, and I 
think a man working in these hot places well earns his four dollars. 
But sometimes the Union will interfere with us where it should not. 
They sent a deputation to me not long ago to say that we were not pay- 
ing our men four dollars per day. I said that we were. They said that 
we deducted three dollars per month for the hospital, and that therefore 
the men only received one hundred and twenty-seven dollars per month, 
which was not four dollars per day. I replied that that was for the 
benefit of the men themselves ; that it was a work of benevolence ; that 
I had inaugurated it solely for the benefit of the men. They insisted that 
the men should not be compelled to pay anything to that fund ; and as 
we had to complete a certain amount of work at a given time, and could 
not afford to get into any trouble with the men, we had to yield in this 
matter. 

STARTING A GRAVEYARD. 

One labors under all sorts of difficulties in dealing with the men. It 
seems ridiculous, but the most difficult thing we had to do was to start a 
graveyard. It took some three years to start it. Whenever a man got 
killed or died the men would get up a big funeral, and go off to Virginia 
City or some other place to bury the man. All work had to be stopped 
for one or two shifts. They would each lose their four dollars for wages, 
would pay three or four hundred dollars more for teams, and some would 
drink so freely as to be unfit for work the following day. I was deter- 
mined to put a stop to that. So said I to the men, " Why can we not 
have a graveyard of our own, and bury our men here ?" I had a grave 
dug for the next man that died. The dead man's friends came and said 



NEVADA. 311 

that they would not have the man buried there. I asked them why. 
They said that it would be too lonely for the poor fellow. This seems 
ridiculous, but it is a fact. I did not wish to have any trouble over the 
matter, and so I let them bury the man where they chose. Every time a 
man died we had just the same trouble again. At last two miners got 
killed who had not paid their fees to the Miners' Union, and had been 
discarded. They had no friends there to object, and so we buried them 
there, and thus were able at last to start our own graveyard. 

ADVANTAGES OF THE SUTRO TUNNEL. 

The first great advantage of the Sutro Tunnel is that it creates a new 
base of operations. We open a new surface for mining operations — a 
surface which is in fact a better surface than the original one. We are 
down seventeen hundred feet from the surface, and can introduce water 
through the shafts, and thus get a fall of seventeen hundred feet; or we 
can take the water which exists at some point between the surface and the 
tunnel and let it flow down to run the machinery, which is placed at the 
tunnel-level. We thus could get an abundant water-power. A very 
small stream of water with a pressure of seventeen hundred feet will give 
an immense power. The time will come in the working of these mines 
when they will economize all of the water. In fact, the water which is 
brought in pipes from the Sierra Nevada Mountains can be most profit- 
ably used for that purpose, and the time will come when it will be so used 
extensively. You can readily perceive that a new surface at that point 
adds just so much to the working possibility of the Comstock Lode. 

The lode extends down indefinitely, and the ore-bodies recur in differ- 
ent places ; we cannot tell exactly how or where, because their distribu- 
tion seems not to be governed by any known law. This tunnel adds to 
the working possibility of that lode certainly sixteen hundred and forty 
feet, which is the level at the point where the Savage Shaft is intercepted 
by our tunnel, and that shaft is away down the hill. This is, of course, 
an incalculable advantage, for those sixteen hundred and forty feet are 
surely added to the working possibility of the Comstock Lode, and ought 
to be worth to it a great many millions of dollars, perhaps hundreds 
of millions. The Comstock Lode has already yielded something like 
four hundred million dollars, and there is in it an enormous quantity of 
low-grade ore which has not been taken out. 



UTAH 



WHEN Utah was first settled by the Mormons in 1847, it was a ter- 
ritory belonging to Mexico, but by the treaty of Guadalupe Hi- 
dalgo in March, 1840, was ceded to the United States, with New Mexico 
and the whole of Upper California. The government did not promptly 
assume sway over this newly-acquired territory, and the Mormons estab- 
lished a government for themselves under the name of the State of Des- 
eret. Congress, refusing to recognize this government of the Mormons, 
organized the Territory of Utah on September 9, 1850. Brigham Young 
was appointed governor. 

AREA. 

Utah Territory is situated north of Arizona, east of Nevada, south of 
Idaho, and west of Colorado, and is between the 37th and 42d parallels 
of north latitude and the 109th and 114th meridians west from Green- 
wich. It has a maximum length of 325 miles by a breadth of 300 ; area, 
84,476 square miles ; population, estimated at 130,000. It is intersected 
from north to south by the Wahsatch Mountains, dividing it nearly 
equally between the Great Basin and the basin of the Rio Colorado. 
The altitude of the surface on both sides of this mountain-range is about 
the same — the valleys four to six thousand feet above sea-level ; the 
mountains, six to thirteen thousand. West of the Wahsatch the drainage 
is into lakes and sinks which have no outlet, the largest of which is Great 
Salt Lake, with an elevation of 4260 feet, a shore-line of 350 miles, and 
an area of three to four thousand square miles. It receives the Bear and 
Weber and many smaller streams, and also the discharge from Utah Lake 
through the river Jordan. The latter is sweet water, about ten by thirty 
miles in extent, the receptacle of American, Provo, and Spanish Rivers. 
There are numerous valleys, the lowest of them higher than the average 
summit of the Alleghanies. 

312 




ECHO CANON, UTAH. 



UTAH. 313 

TOPOGRAPHY AND GENERAL FEATURES. 

The settled part of Utah lies along the western base of the Wahsatch 
Mountains, which run through the heart of the Territory from north to 
south, reaching their greatest altitude near Salt Lake City (where they 
abut on the Uintah range coming from the east, forming the cross-bar 
of a T), and almost losing themselves in the sandstone plateau of the Rio 
Colorado in the south. Abreast of Salt Lake City the Wahsatch range 
is ten to twelve thousand feet in altitude. Here, within a small area, 
rise the Bear and Weber Rivers, which empty into Salt Lake ; the 
Provo, which empties into Utah Lake ; and some of the main affluents 
of the Green River, which, with the Grand, become the Rio Colorado 
lower down. It is in the vicinity of the heads of these rivers that the 
Emma, the Flagstaff, the Vallejo, the Ontario, McHenry, and various 
other well-known mines are situated. Nearly one-half of the Territory 
lies south of the Uintah range and east of the Wahsatch range proper, 
and is drained by the Green and Colorado Rivers and their tributaries. 
Its general altitude along these streams is between four and five thousand 
feet ; it is much broken by mountains, and is but partially explored, and 
not settled at all. It contains many thousand square miles of fine graz- 
ing country above the Grand Canon, with more or less arable land, and 
no one yet knows what mineral treasures. It is believed that the Atchi- 
son, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad, after being drawn to the head of 
the river Arkansas by the mineral attractions of Leadville, will find an 
easy way through this region, entering the Great Basin vid some of the 
feasible railroad-passes of the Wahsatch. A wide strip of the western 
part of the Territory is lake, sink, mountain, or desert. The inhabited 
part is chiefly a narrow belt, watered by the streams of the western slope 
of the Wahsatch range, which lose themselves in inland lakes or basins. 
The largest and best known of these is the Great Salt Lake Basin. 

GREAT SALT LAKE BASIN. 

Including the valley of Bear River up to the Gates on the north, and 
the Utah Basin on the south, whose waters are discharged into Great Salt 
Lake through Jordan River, this basin is 200 miles in length by 40 or 
50 in width. The principal streams which are lost in Great Salt Lake 
are the Malade and Bear — the latter 300 miles long — on the north ; Box 
Elder and Willow Creeks, Ogden and Weber Rivers, on the east ; and 
City, Mill, and Cottonwood Creeks and the river Jordan on the south. 
Into Utah Lake flow the American, Provo, and Spanish Forks — though 



314 THE GREAT WEST. 

these are not forks, but independent mountain-streams — and Salt Creek. 
All of them but the Malade have in the Wahsatch range their sources, 
which collect the snows in winter that give them life and being. Where 
they emerge from their canons settlements have been made on them, and 
their waters appropriated, so far as it can be cheaply done, for the pur- 
poses of irrigation, and in some cases of furnishing power for mills. Of 
these settlements, the largest is Salt Lake City, located about centrally, 
as regards the length of the entire basin, at the base of the Wahsatch 
range, ten or twelve miles from the south-east shore of Salt Lake, and 
containing a population of about twenty-five thousand. The city is sup- 
plied with water by City Creek. It is laid out with broad streets and 
sidewalks, and is built up more or less for two miles square, shade and 
fruit trees largely hiding the buildings in the summer season. It has 
ample hotel accommodations, gas, water, and street-cars ; is peaceful and 
orderly ; is connected with the outside world and adjacent points of 
interest or business by rail. Enjoying the most healthy and agreeable 
climate of perhaps any large town in the United States; with street-cars 
running to the famous Warm Springs, and the bathing-shores of Salt 
Lake but a half hour's ride distant on the rail ; with peaks of the Wah- 
satch, the Oquirrh, and other ranges ruffling the clouds at every point of 
the horizon ; with picturesque mountain-canons threaded by trout-streams 
accessible by rail, — it is one of the most attractive places of summer 
resort for tourists seeking health or pleasure in all the world. The 
eastern edge of Salt Lake Basin is dotted with settlements, and is highly 
cultivated wherever water can be got on the ground. These are North 
String, Bear River City, Corinne, Brigham City, Willard, North Ogden, 
Ogden, Kaysville, Farmington, Centreville, Bountiful, Salt Lake City, 
the Cottonwoods, Sandy, West Jordan, Deweyville, Lehi, American Fork, 
Pleasant Grove, Provo, Springville, Spanish Fork, Salem, Payson, San- 
taquin, Mona, Nephi, and Levan. Ogden, at the intersection of the east 
and west and north and south railroads, is the town next in importance 
to Salt Lake City, the capital. It is in the forks of Ogden and Weber 
Rivers, is within a short drive of fine fishing and mountain-scenery, and 
is rapidly improving. Great Salt Lake Basin at large has an altitude of 
about forty-five hundred feet above the sea, and is the paradise of the 
farmer, the horticulturist, and the grower of fruit. Cut off from it by a 
low range, now surmounted by the Utah and Northern Railway, toward 
the north-east is Cache Valley. 



UTAH. 315 

CACHE, SAN PETE, AND SEVIER VALLEYS. 

Cache Valley is oval in shape, perhaps ten by fifty miles in extent, 
watered by Logan and Blacksmith Forks of Bear River, and by the 
latter itself, and sustaining a settlement wherever a stream breaks out of 
the enclosing mountains. Logan is the principal town of Cache Valley, 
and thence one drives eastward through Logan Canon forty or fifty miles 
to Bear Lake Valley, Bear River here flowing toward the north. Farther 
on it bends to the west and southward, and, flowing down through Cache 
Valley, finds its way to Salt Lake. Cache and Bear Lake Valleys have 
a score of towns and fifteen thousand inhabitants. 

To the south-east of Salt Lake Basin, and to be connected with it by 
rail through Salt Creek or Nephi Canon this season, lies San Pete Valley, 
called the granary of Utah, surrounded by mountains except on the south, 
where the San Pete River breaks through into the Sevier, and sustain- 
ing eight thriving towns, all still in their infancy, though founded several 
years ago. San Pete and Cache Valleys are fine grain-growing sections, 
but, having colder winters, are not so well adapted to fruit-raising as the 
Salt Lake Basin. 

Next southward is the Sevier River, which has its source in Fish 
(Indian, Panguitch) Lake, near the southern boundary of the Territory, 
and runs, like Bear River, a long way north before it finds a way out of 
the mountains, and turning to the south-west is finally lost in Sevier Lake. 
Most of the streams in the south-west lose themselves in small lakes or 
sinks ; that is, such as rise to the northward of the divide between the 
Great Basin and the Rio Colorado country. The Sevier River Valley is 
occupied, like all the other Utah valleys (and there are many in the re- 
cesses of the Wahsateh, and some outlying and disconnected with that 
range, although of minor importance, which have not been particularly 
noticed) where a stream breaks out of the adjoining mountains, by a settle- 
ment ; but, like the other streams, the full capacity of the Sevier River 
for irrigation has not yet been called into requisition. 

GREAT SALT LAKE VALLEY. 

The western third of the Territory from end to end is an alternation 
of mountain, desert, sink, and lake, with few oases of arable or grazing 
lands. Great Salt Lake covers an area of three to four thousand square 
miles, and the desert west of it a still larger area. The Sevier, Preuss, 
and Little Salt Lakes, all together, are small in comparison. Formerly, 
a mighty river flowed northward from the vicinity of Sevier Lake to the 



316 THE GREAT WEST. 

westward of Great Salt Lake, the dry bed of which, nearly a mile in 
width, must be crossed in going west from Salt Lake City to Deep Creek. 
Since it dried up hills and spurs of mountains have been upheaved in its 
course, but the old channel continues on its way up hill and down, and 
over them all. Divided off from Great Salt Lake by a sort of causeway 
eight hundred feet high is Rush Valley, containing a lake covering twenty 
to thirty square miles, where twenty years ago there was hay-land and a 
military reservation. This, as well as the accompanying filling up of the 
Great Salt Lake, shows a decided aqueous increase in Salt Lake Basin 
within that time. Rush Valley has mining and agricultural settlements, 
but much more pastoral than arable land ; and so has Skull Valley to the 
westward. But from these south to the rim of the basin there are only 
occasional habitable spots, and they are due to springs. 

THE MOUNTAINS. 

The mountains are the source of the wealth of Utah, present and pros- 
pective, which consists in water and metals. They gather the snows in 
winter which feed the streams in summer. In the northern part of the 
Territory the Wahsatch range attains in general a high altitude, with a 
mass in proportion. There is a large accumulation of snow in winter, 
and the streams are correspondingly large and numerous. In the southern 
part of the Territory the main range is lower and less massive ; the 
average temperature is higher, of course ; there is less snow, smaller and 
fewer streams, and more desert in proportion. This part of the Territory 
is not rich in agricultural resources. The isolated ranges in the Great 
Basin seldom give rise to streams of much magnitude, and the interven- 
ing valleys partake more of the desert character. But all the mountains, 
so far as known, are full of minerals, and there is generally water enough 
for the purposes of mining and reducing them. 

AGRICULTURE. 

Down to June 30, 1878, there were surveyed of public land in Utah 
8,178,819 acres of arable, timbered, coal, and mineral land. It is im- 
possible to tell from any accessible data what proportion of it is arable 
land — probably not more than one-fourth, or 2,000,000 acres. 

Irrigation is much used, and is almost an indispensable element in 
farming. The scarcity of water compels settlement along the streams 
and by the borders of lakes ; but that Utah is productive in the various 
cereal crops can be realized from the fact that the yield of wheat in one 
year (1875) was 1,418,783 bushels, while the total value in that year of the 



UTAH. 317 

various crops was $7,500,000. Improved lands are held at from twenty- 
five to one hundred dollars an acre, according to location. There are, 
however, large bodies of government and railroad lands which can be 
obtained at low rates. But it is more advantageous to colonies than to in- 
dividuals to purchase these latter, as irrigation can thereby be obtained by 
the construction of canals at very low cost. 

Fruits thrive abundantly in Utah, as apples, pears, peaches, plums, 
apricots, cherries, and grapes. 

STOCK-RAISING. 

This is one of the great resources of Utah. The grazing-lands are 
almost unlimited, including the second tables of the river-courses, the 
slopes of the foot-hills and lesser ranges not too far from water, the shores 
of sinks and lakes, and the coves and valleys of the mountains. In the 
elevated portions of the Territory stock requires shelter, but in the Salt 
Lake Basin and farther south it generally thrives without much if any 
protection through the winter. It is estimated by stock-growers and 
drivers that the Territory turns out yearly forty thousand head of stock 
from one to four years old, averaging in value $15 a head — a total of 
$600,000. 

The wool-clip for 1878 was 1,600,000 pounds. The Mormon popula- 
tion is chiefly engaged in agriculture, and the wonderful development of 
the mineral resources is mainly due to the Gentile population, who are 
really dependent upon the mines for their support. 

MINERALS. 

Mines were known to exist in Utah, and some attempts were made to 
open and work them, during the five years next preceding the completion 
of the Pacific Railroad, but the conditions were not favorable, and little 
was accomplished. On the consummation of that enterprise, however, 
attention was recalled to them, and within eighteen months thereafter the 
streets of Salt Lake City were thronged with wagons and teams bringing 
ore from almost every point of the compass and from twenty to two hun- 
dred miles distant. Rude mining camps, gradually growing into towns, 
mills, sampling- works, and smelters, began to appear as if by magic. 

From the end of 1870 to the end of 1878, as appears from the books 
of the Utah Central Railroad Company, there were shipped from Salt 
Lake City 76,912 tons of ore, 109,276 tons of argentiferous lead-bullion, 
and 8197 tons of lead — worth, in the aggregate, quite $40,000,000. 
For the last three years the value of Utah's mineral output has been 



318 THE GREAT WEST. 

$18,558,805.48. Most of the ores so far worked have been argentiferous 
galena, but the present depression in the price of lead decreases the 
profits realized from that kind of ores. Lead represents only $5,379,446 
of the product of the last three years, against $13,137,033 of the precious 
metals, and of last year but $811,068, against $5,224,580, or less than six- 
teen per cent. And, further, as the profit on lead has decreased, mines 
producing gold and silver ores proper have been discovered or have risen 
into prominence. Such are the Ontario, which has paid forty-two con- 
secutive dividends of $50,000 each ; the mines of Silver Reef, which, 
first discovered two years ago, are now producing fine bullion at the rate 
of $100,000 per month ; and the gold-mines in Bingham Canon, the ores 
of which, though of comparatively low grade, are very cheaply mined 
and milled, and occur, so far as work has shown, in veins or deposits of 
extraordinary size and strength. 

There is not a county in the Territory where mines have not been 
located and mining districts in greater or lesser number organized. 
Froiseth's new map of Utah shows eighty of these new mining districts, 
covering more than one million acres, crowding each other most in Salt 
Lake, Utah, Juab, and Beaver counties. Box Elder, Tooele, Millard, 
Piute, and Iron counties have a plentiful sprinkling of them. Wherever 
there are mountains the prospector has been, and left his footprints in the 
shape of mining districts. Very many of them are abandoned, it is true, 
but this is more often on account of inaccessibility, want of capital, and 
other unfavorable circumstances than because of the lack of merit or 
promise of the mining locations. After the time necessary to extend in- 
terior communication, and to acquire full knowledge of the nature of the 
ores and the best methods of reducing them, we may expect these dis- 
tricts to be revisited and labor resumed, and with permanently profitable 
results. The mining history of the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific 
Slope records nothing more striking than the sudden resurrection of ap- 
parently lifeless mining camps. Leadville, Bodie, Salmon River, and 
Pioche are examples. The records of the land-office in Salt Lake City 
show 487 applications for patents to mines in Utah, and the issue of 362 
patents. 

The most important mineral belt of the Territory, so far as known, 
first makes its appearance on a sort of break-down in the Wahsatch range, 
drained off north and south, and ultimately west, by the Weber and 
Provo Rivers, in the vicinity of the Twin Peaks, which are twelve thou- 
sand feet above tide-water, and mark the culmination of the magnificent 
range overlooking Salt Lake City. Thence it extends over the crest of 



UTAH. 319 

the Wahsateh westward, covering the sources of the Cottonwood and 
American Fork, crosses Jordan Valley, about twenty miles south of Salt 
Lake City, and reappears in the Oquirrh, an isolated range separating 
Jordan and Rush Valleys. It includes the mines of Park City, the 
Cottonwood, American Fork, Brigham Canon, Ophir, and Dry Caflon. 

Utah is not only rich in the precious metals, but liberally supplied with 
coal, iron, and other minerals. The supply of coal is absolutely inex- 
haustible, yet has been somewhat inaccessible. Railroads are now being 
built that will remove this difficulty, and will aid greatly in the develop- 
ment of the manufactories and smelting-works by supplying fuel at low 
prices. Marble and other building-stones are scattered over Utah in every 
variety and in inexhaustible supply. Professor Newberry says that no 
equal area of the country surpasses Utah in the richness and variety of 
its mineral deposits. 

RAILROADS. 

There were at the end of 1878, including the Union Pacific and Cen- 
tral Pacific tracks in Utah, about 340 miles of standard gauge, 190 of 
narrow gauge, 15 miles of tramway, and eight or ten miles of street- 
railway, with 961 miles of telegraph-lines. The branches are penetrating 
all parts, and soon nearly every portion of the Territory will be accessible 
by rail. 

CLIMATE. 

The climate of a mountainous country like Utah will vary considerably 
with its varying altitudes and exposures. The inhabited parts of the 
Territory range in general between four thousand three hundred and six 
thousand three hundred feet above the sea. Seventy per cent, of the 
population is settled in valleys not exceeding four thousand five hundred 
feet in elevation, and sixty per cent, in the basin of Great Salt Lake. In 
these lower valleys the climate is mild and agreeable. Its perpetual charm 
cannot be conveyed by meteorological statistics. The atmosphere is dry, 
elastic, transparent, and bracing; and the temperature, while ranging high 
in summer, and not altogether exempt from the fickleness characteristic 
of the climate of North America in general, compares favorably in re- 
spect of equability with that of the United States at large, and especially 
with that of Colorado and the Territories north and south of Utah. Its 
range upward is less than that of St. Louis, Philadelphia, and New York, 
to say nothing of that of Arizona ; while in the other direction there is 
no comparison, either with the Eastern States intersected by the same 
isothermal or with Colorado, Idaho, and Montana. 



320 THE GREAT WEST. 



The climate is favorable to consumption and bronchial troubles. The 
best treatment known for consumption is a year of steady daily horseback 
riding in a mountainous country, with plain diet. Rheumatic fevers are 
common throughout the country ; there is a mountain-fever, which yields 
readily to treatment, however. 

GREAT SALT LAKE. 

The first mention of this lake was by the Baron la Houtan in 1689, 
who gathered from the Western Indians some vague notions of its exist- 
ence. Until Colonel Fremont visited it in 1842 on his way to Oregon, 
it is probable that its dead waters had never been invaded or the solemn 
stillness of its islands broken. 

It covers an area of three to four thousand square miles, and its surface 
is higher than the average Alleghany Mountains. The depth ranges 
from twenty to sixty feet. It has become a famous bathing resort. 

SALT LAKE CITY. 

Those who have seen Salt Lake City, particularly in spring, declare it 
to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. The Wahsatch group 
of the Rocky Mountains lies to the north, east, and south, and the Uintah 
range to the south-west. About seven miles west of the city is the Great 
Salt Lake. 

The city is situated at the northern extremity of the valley. There is 
a gentle slope toward the south and west. The extent of the valley from 
north to south is perhaps thirty miles, and its width is about fifteen miles. 
To the east rise the mountains, some of them to the height of twelve thou- 
sand feet, and on their northern slopes snow may be seen throughout the 
year. South of the valley lies Utah Lake. Northward from this lake 
flows the Jordan, a beautiful stream of fresh water, which empties into 
the Great Salt Lake not far from the city. Salt Lake City is at present 
supplied with water chiefly from City Creek Canon, toward the north and 
east. Plans are now being carried out by which a more abundant supply 
may be obtained from the Jordan. The city is laid out in squares. 
Seven blocks, with the crossings, make a mile. The streets, with their 
sidewalks, are 132 feet wide, 16 feet being allowed for a sidewalk. On 
each side of the streets, for their whole length, are irrigating-ditches. 
Through these the cool water from the mountain-snows is always flowing 
in great abundance. By these the gardens are watered, and the trees 



UTAH. 321 

planted everywhere by the sides of the streets have an abundant growth. 
The trees mostly used for shade are cottonwood, box-elder, and locust. 
The ever-shifting scenes upon the mountains near, caused by sunshine 
and clouds, together with the dry and tonic air, make Salt Lake a beau- 
tiful and desirable location for a home. 

POINTS OF INTEREST. 

One of the most interesting points in the vicinity of the city is Fort 
Douglas, a well-built full-regiment post, located on a plateau about three 
miles east of, and five hundred feet above, the city. The post and grounds 
are laid out with taste, a small stream of mountain-water making the cul- 
ture of trees, shrubbery, grass, and flowers possible. The elevation gives 
almost a bird's-eye view of the city and valley. In the distance lies the 
Dead Sea of America, a blue band drawn along the base of island-moun- 
tains, the vistas between which are closed by more distant ranges. In the 
north the Promontory divides the waters, ending far out in the lake. 
Across Jordan Valley the Oquirrh rises to a lofty height from the lake- 
shore, white with snow a great part of the year, and often veiled by 
clouds. On the south a low cross-range completes the enclosure of Jor- 
dan Valley, which lies an unrolled map at one's feet. An even finer view, 
and one much sought, is afforded from Ensign Peak, north of the city, 
one might say at the head of Main street, although its ascent must be 
afoot. 

Among the attractive objects in the city are the Tabernacle, a unique 
structure, with its immense organ ; the foundation and rising white walls 
of the Temple ; the Salt Lake Museum, a valuable collection of Utah 
minerals and curiosities from many lands ; and the Warm Springs, nicely 
improved and with commodious buildings and conveniences for all sorts 
of bathing. There are some good public buildings and many noble pri- 
vate residences and beautiful grounds. A drive round the city and to 
Fort Douglas is interesting and enjoyable. It might well extend to Emi- 
gration Canon, near the fort, or to Parley's Canon, farther south. The 
country on the Cottonwoods, adjoining the city southward, is highly im- 
proved for several miles out. The system of city streets, making blocks 
of ten acres, is extended over this rural suburb, where they become country 
lanes, and afford the most delightful drives through cultivated fields, 
orchards, and improvised groves of trees. Occasionally there is a small 
artificial or natural sheet of water, which has been improved and beautified 
with especial reference to the wants of pleasure-seekers. 



MORMONISM. 



ORIGIN AND EARLY HISTORY. 

DURING the years in which Mormonism was gaining a foothold re- 
ligious experience throughout the country was marked by peculiar 
physical manifestations. Upon the visitation of the Spirit, as was sup- 
posed, many were seized with convulsions. Some would shriek and yell ; 
some would fall in fits ; the " Jerkers " were remarkable for convulsive 
twitchings of the limbs. New England was included within the range 
of these manifestations. The phenomena of Spiritualism may have been 
connected with religion. At any rate, a large number of New England 
people, religiously reared, united their fortunes with the phenomenal 
Christianity of Mormonism. In the year 1827, when scarcely twenty-two 
years of age, Joseph Smith obtained the golden plates upon which was writ- 
ten the Book of Mormon. In 1830 three thousand copies were printed. 
This book abounds in expressions peculiar to Scripture. Large fragments 
are transferred bodily into it. The expressions " I say unto you," " and 
it came to pass," " behold," " verily," are repeated ad nauseam. Lured 
by these, multitudes of men and women, believers in the Bible, accepted 
also the Book of Mormon. Large numbers, too, of Campbellites from 
Pennsylvania and Ohio joined the Mormons. Among the*New England 
names we recognize are Young, Smith, Eldredge, Wells, Snow. Apostle 
Wells numbers among his direct ancestry one of the early governors of 
Connecticut. The Mormons declared that their religion was a return to 
the primitive Christian faith. Gifts of tongues abounded ; gifts of heal- 
ing were there. Joseph was a great healer, even to the performing of 
miracles. He had a large frame, and frequently in his addresses was 
able to produce great enthusiasm among his hearers. 

Kirtland, Ohio, was the first gathering-place of the Saints. Afterward 
many gathered in Jackson county, Missouri. Later still, Nauvoo was 

322 



MORMONISM. 323 

founded. Here Joseph gathered around him the choicest and most in- 
telligent spirits. Here the Mormons built a splendid temple — not one 
stone of which now remains to mark the site — and put the finishing 
touches upon it after it had become a well-understood fact that they must 
shortly abandon it for ever. A military organization was formed, called 
the Nauvoo Legion, and the Mormons were fast aspiring to become a 
political power. Joseph had already been nominated for the Presidency 
of the United States. The Mormons were united and obedient ; they 
formed a compact society. At this period there existed an organized 
band of marauders and horse-thieves whose line of operations extended 
from Canada to Iowa. When a man had once crossed the river into 
Iowa, he was safe, for he was in a wilderness. So bold had these men 
become, and so complete were their plans, that the people of Illinois had 
become desperate, and were bent on their extermination. Some of these 
marauders, for protection, joined the Mormons at Nauvoo, and were safe. 
Their real character was doubtless unknown to the Mormons, but their 
villainies were attributed to the Latter-Day Saints. This fact, added to 
their political unity, gave the Mormons a very bad reputation, and a band 
of men desperate enough to determine to drive out the Mormons or ex- 
terminate them was readily formed. A mob gathered. Joseph and his 
brother were murdered in prison at Carthage. The people determined to 
find refuge in the wilderness. Brigham Young was the great executive 
of the hegira. Florence, on the west side of the Missouri, six miles 
north of where Omaha now stands, was the ral lying-point of the pil- 
grims. They arrived too late to press on that season. In the Mormon 
burying-ground there are the bodies of seven hundred of the fugitives, 
two hundred of them children. In the midst of this trying period they 
were sustained by great faith and a heroic courage, and the cold nights 
were frequently enlivened by the sounds of music and dancing. Large 
numbers dropped out of the ranks on the way to obtain employment 
among the farmers and to support their families during the winter. Some 
went as far as Missouri. Many of these never returned. Early in the 
spring the caravan took up its march for the West. 

On the 21st of July, 1847, the Mormon pilgrims from Nauvoo saw 
for the first time the Great Salt Lake and the beautiful valley to the east 
of it. On the 24th their president arrived. "This," says a Church 
writer, " is the day whose events are of the most importance to mankind 
of any that ever transpired, the creation of Adam and the birth of Jesus 
Christ alone excepted." The recurrence of this date has ever since been 
celebrated as more important than any national holiday. The Fourth of 



324 THE GREAT WEST. 

July is a quiet day in Utah. If one wants to be reminded of that brave 
day of old, he must go to some mining camp where Gentiles outnumber 
the Mormons. In 1 848 about four thousand entered Salt Lake Valley, 
and suffered much from want of food the following winter. Soon pros- 
perity came, and for several years continued, until Brigham Young began 
to assume a more and more arrogant manner. From this time date the 
bad stories told of him. The multitude of murders attributed to him 
began at about this time. In 1856 the Federal judge was compelled to 
close his court. Next year President Buchanan sent three thousand men 
to protect the government officials. Young was filled with fury ; great 
numbers of apostates were murdered. In this year the Mountain Mea- 
dows massacre took place. Six hundred murders have been traced to this 
period, and most of them are believed to have been perpetrated by Mor- 
mon officials or at their instance, and in obedience to unequivocal hints 
from Brigham Young or in harmony with his inculcations. I quote 
from a Mormon publication (The Journal of Discourses) a dream of 
Brigham Young's : he is warring against apostates, and says he dreamed 
of an encounter with two ruffians : " With that I took my large bowie- 
knife, that I used to wear as a bosom-pin at Nauvoo, and cut one of their 
throats from ear to ear, saying, ' Go to hell across-lots !' The other one 
said, ' You dare not serve me so.' I instantly sprang at him, seized him 

by the hair of the head, and, bringing him down, cut his throat 

At this I awoke. I say, rather than that apostates should flourish here 
I will unsheath my bowie-knife and conquer or die. Now, you nasty 
apostates, clear out, or judgment will be put to the line and righteousness 
to the plummet. [ Voices generally, * Go it ! go it I '] If you say it is right, 
raise your hands. [All hands up.~\ Let us call upon the Lord to assist 
us in this and every good work." 

This arrogance of Brigham Young and his followers did not hesitate 
to defy the United States government, and the courts were closed. In 
1858 the United States troops marched into the city of Salt Lake, which 
had been abandoned on their approach. 

An indication of the rapid growth of population is seen in the fact 
that twenty thousand people left Salt Lake City at this time to find 
refuge somewhere at the south : many of the people thought their des- 
tination would be Mexico. 

The storm blew over. The leaders accepted Buchanan's "pardon." 
One condition of their acceptance was that the army should not be sta- 
tioned within forty miles of the city. The permanent encampment was 
Camp Floyd, about forty miles south of the city. 



MORMONISM. 325 

The early years of Mormonism in Utah were hard years. Some years 
produced abundant harvests ; others were almost years of famine. The 
present population of the Territory is about 130,000, mostly poor and 
mostly ignorant. Many are devoted to the Church, but there are great 
numbers of apostates. If the seventeen millions spent by the govern- 
ment in the Mormon war could now be devoted to educational purposes 
in the Territory, the Mormonism of the coming generation would be 
wonderfully different in character from that of the present. 

TEMPLES. 

These are all built of cut stone at an enormous cost. Brigham Young 
computed the cost of the one now building in Salt Lake City at nine 
millions of dollars. Two years ago the Seventies made a vigorous effort 
to obtain money for its completion. They raised one hundred and sixty 
thousand dollars. This raised the wall four feet. Everything built or 
planned by Young bears the characteristic mark of massiveness and solid- 
ity. The foundations of the temple are said to be sixteen feet below the 
surface of the ground and nine feet thick. The dimensions are — two hun- 
dred feet long, one hundred wide, one hundred high. The tower will be 
one hundred feet additional. There are two winding stairways at the east 
end of the building, each stone of which is carefully cut and cost nearly 
one hundred dollars. The granite is very hard, and the cost of preparing 
it is thus greatly increased. It is obtained from Little Cottonwood Canon, 
in which the famous Emma Mine is situated. It is transported now by 
rail ; the distance is about thirty miles. Before the railroad was built 
the stone was brought by teams. Several thousand dollars were ex- 
pended in building a canal for this purpose, but it was finally brought to 
a stop by the discovery that water would not run up hill. The temple 
has reached the height of fifty feet from the ground. During the last 
four years it has been raised eight or ten feet a year. 

There is a magnificent temple already completed at St. George. One 
is in process of erection at Manti. One will be completed at Logan next 
year, and its cost will be four hundred thousand dollars. 

These temples are not for public worship ; they are solely for the cele- 
bration of the rites of the Church. No public assembly will ever meet in 
them. Baptisms will be performed there for the living and dead ; en- 
dowments will be bestowed there ; marriages, earthly and celestial, will 
be performed within these walls ; within their darkness will be kept what- 
ever records may exist of polygamous marriages. These are the uses to 
which all these temples will be dedicated. Out of deep poverty the people 



326 THE GREAT WEST. 

have built them, and who can wonder that they are poor ? Millions are 
spent to encourage and deepen superstition. Scarcely any effort is made 
or money expended to build up a system of common schools. 

Mormonism of itself is incapable of rising higher. Those who are 
faithful to its authoritative teachings deride human learning and believe 
in keeping the people down. The cure for Mormonism must come from 
without. The establishment and wise management of good schools in 
Utah offer more hope for the Territory than all other means. The wise 
teacher wins his pupils. AVhen the pupils are won the fathers and mo- 
thers are with him. This is also the cheapest method of solving the Mor- 
mon problem. Closely following in the track of these schools, distinctively 
Christian effort should be made. Another part of the work must be done 
by the courts. A deaf Congress should be made to hear the voice of the 
country. It should be made to pass laws against polygamy which can be 
executed in Utah. When these instrumentalities are in operation a good 
foundation will have been formed for an enlightened public sentiment to 
reach the ignorant classes through the press. 

PRESENT CONDITION AND ATTITUDE OF MORMONISM. 

Mormonism to-day is a different thing from that of Brigham Young's 
time. Shortly before his death he founded the order of Enoch. This 
was a stock company which proposed to monopolize all the trade of Utah. 
Branches of the great Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution were 
established in all parts of the Territory. The small shopkeepers were 
" counselled " to put their stock or its proceeds into this mammoth corpo- 
ration, of which Young was the leader. One man, Bishop Wiley of the 
Third Ward, ventured to oppose him ; he would allow none of his people 
to enter in. Brigham Young was indignant. Wiley was deposed ; an- 
other was ordained in his place. But the people still stood by their for- 
mer bishop. He continued his ministrations, his successor was ignored, 
and at Young's death Wiley was in formal possession of his office as be- 
fore. This shows that even while the prophet was alive dissensions were 
breeding. The people felt the need of breathing freer. The priesthood 
has always laid claim to greater tolerance than the " sectarians " of the 
world, but the Saints found that for them there was but one path to walk 
in. There is at this present moment more reality to their boasted freedom 
than ever before. The generation of adults of course is fixed ; it cannot 
be made over again. The young people are coming up in their own way. 
Lieutenant Gunnison so far back as 1852 wrote: "Of all the children 
that have come under our observation, we must in candor say that those 



MORMONISM. 327 

of the Mormons are the most lawless and profane." Careful men, who 
have been intimately acquainted with the leaders of the Latter-Day Saints 
and the history of the Mormon Church, declare that morals among them 
are in a much lower state than in early times. The announcement of the 
doctrine of polygamy was a great stumbling-block to the earlier Mor- 
mons, and thousands of them apostatized. Hundreds of families in 
Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin, among the best families in 
the States, belonged to that revolt against Mormonism. It has been esti- 
mated that of all who have been connected with the Mormon Church at 
least seventy per cent, have apostatized. These figures are probably ex- 
aggerated, but the defection has been very great. 

The best of the Mormons apostatized at the time referred to, of the 
converts in England as well as this country. When the Saints reached 
Salt Lake there was greater obedience and unity. John Hyde, an apos- 
tate, says that ■'* in 1854, Brigham Young commanded the people to con- 
secrate by legal transfer all right and title to all personal property. A 
law passed through the Legislature making such transfers strictly valid ; 
quit-claim deeds were drawn up, and from their land to their wearing 
apparel the majority of the people transferred everything to Brigham 
Young as trustee, in trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day 
Saints, and some in the exuberance of enthusiasm threw in their wives 
and families." 

Gradually that wildness of fanaticism died out through contact with 
Gentiles and other causes. Even the tithing is in many cases neglected. 
When paid it is largely in " truck " of various kinds. 

But grossness of manners and language has been gradually disappear- 
ing. Brigham Young was both profane and obscene. Heber Kimball 
was vulgar and low beyond the language of the slums, even in his public 
addresses. Mormon women have often risen and left the Tabernacle, dis- 
gusted and outraged by his obscenity. Men who have been intimately 
acquainted with the system from its early days assert confidently that the 
morals of the people, particularly the rising generation, are far below the 
standard of the early Church. Polygamy has much to answer for in pro- 
ducing this result. Lack of education and home-training explains much 
of this condition. Brigham Young said that not a dollar of his money 
should go to educate another man's child. He was true to his word. The 
money of the people has gone, not to put up and equip schools, but to 
build temples. There is no system of free schools in the Territory. Yet 
the settlements are favorably situated for them. Water is scarce in Utah ; 
people flock where they can get it. The result is, that the settlements are 



328 THE GREAT WEST. 

compact, and children can be educated with far less expense than though 
the settlements were sparse. There are a few free schools under Mormon 
management, but these depend wholly upon the enterprise of single com- 
munities. There are three such schools in the Territory, one of them in 
Salt Lake. The tuition in all the rest ranges from three to six dollars 
and fifty cents per quarter. This is in addition to the Territorial tax for 
school purposes. Scholars of the grade of the Fifth Reader pay six dol- 
lars. The people are poor and cannot afford the money. Multitudes of 
Mormons therefore gladly avail themselves of whatever opportunities 
Gentile schools afford. About thirteen years ago St. Mark's School was 
established in Salt Lake. Some thousands of children have already come 
under its beneficent influence, and their Mormonism is thus either modi- 
fied or entirely lost. The Methodists had a few years ago a flourishing 
school of more than two hundred pupils ; through various causes only 
a small fragment of that number remains. The Presbyterians have a good 
school of about one hundred and fifty pupils. All of these schools have 
primary departments, and all are full. Salt Lake Academy, more recently 
founded, is more specially devoted to the training of pupils in higher 
studies and for the preparation of teachers for home-work ; it has no 
primary department. The number of students is 120. The New West 
Education Commission has established two free schools in Utah, and 
Presbyterian missions with schools connected are doing a great work in 
eight or ten stations outside of Salt Lake. The Mormons have a " uni- 
versity " of a grade considerably below the average New England high 
school. Three competent instructors are employed. The mental dis- 
cipline of their students suffers from a pernicious system of electives 
and other causes. 

The condition of the ward schools in Salt Lake City is deplorable. 
Not more than fifty per cent, of the children of school age attend school, 
and those that do, suffer from inadequate instruction. The schools already 
established by Gentile influences and money are, by their very presence 
here, exerting a powerful influence in improving the Mormon schools of 
every grade. One thing that hinders their influence is the fact that no 
Gentile or non-Mormon is admitted as teacher in any Mormon school. 

There is another agency at work in destroying priestcraft in Utah. 
I refer to the mutual-improvement associations of the younger Mormons. 
These are at present in a very crude state, and under the management of 
the elders are groping in the dark. But the spirit of free inquiry is there, 
and it will bear fruit. 

The plague-spot of Mormonism is polygamy. From what I have 



MORMONISM. 329 

written above a stranger might think this evil is destined soon to fall. 
It is not so. All the prominent men of the Church are polygamists. 
Personally, many of them are agreeable men, and men of ability too. 
Great numbers of the children are born in polygamous relations. Will 
these deny their mothers ? Those who think so do not know human na- 
ture. Polygamy is the strongest bond that keeps the Mormon Church 
together to-day. Let a man's mother be a plural wife ; let his best friends 
be compromised by that system ; let these bonds be strengthened by in- 
numerable cross-links of relationship. This is the way it is with polyg- 
amy in the Mormon Church. The Mormons are estranged from respect- 
able Gentile society. They must hang together, as Franklin said of the 
signers of the Declaration, or they will hang separately. They know it, 
and they will hang together. The government must be determined, wise, 
and steady to deal properly with this plague. The slowness of Congress, 
its selfish dallying, drive the thoughtful element of the Gentiles in Utah 
to rage and despair. It would probably cost less to abolish this evil by 
education than to move Congress to act in the premises. Many men 
familiar with affairs in Utah look to see the present weak trifling carried 
on till it finally ends in bloodshed. 

The Mormon Legislature, just adjourned, numbers among its thirty- 
nine members thirty-five polygamists. These men make the laws of the 
Territory. George Q. Cannon goes to Washington and manipulates 
the whole country for them. The Willits bill is approved by the district 
attorney of Utah, by the judges, and the best lawyers in the Territory. 
It is referred to committee ; Proctor Knott puts a quietus to it, and holds 
himself up to all patriots for the infamy a traitor deserves. The presi- 
dent of the Mormon Church, John Taylor, is defiant in regard to polyg- 
amy ; Cannon is its great apostle. 

Two thousand five hundred Mormon immigrants reach Utah annually. 
They are the poorest and most ignorant of Europe. It is from these that 
the polygamic ranks are largely recruited ; and enough more are coming. 
Last year it is believed more such marriages took place than in many 
years. 



330 THE GREAT WEST. 

DISLOYAL MORMONISM. 

BY EEV. JOSEPH COOK. 

[DELIVERED IN THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH, BOSTON.] 



THE PRELUDE. 

BLUEBEARD asks for a seat in the Senate. He stands with one 
hand locking the door of his chamber of horrors, and with the 
other he knocks for admission to the supreme legislative assembly of the 
foremost Christian republic of all time. He has stood in this attitude 
for twenty-three years, and is becoming importunate. 

How large is the territory over which the Mormon Bluebeard exer- 
cises sway? Here is a superb iron relief map of the United States, 
kindly loaned to me from among their wonders of illustrative apparatus 
by the New England School-Furnishing Company. Its sections are 
divisible, and I take up Utah in one hand and Vermont in the other, 
and place the latter on the former. It is literally true, as you notice, 
that Vermont can be hidden away in one of the valleys of Utah, and be 
no larger than a babe in a bed of full size. Utah has 84,576 square 
miles of territory; Vermont only 9612. I take up Massachusetts, and 
find that I can hide her away in one corner of this polygamous couch. 
[Laughter.~] You say that I am too suggestive in my metaphors, and 
yet this is your Territory, directly under the control of Congress, and its 
legal condition depends upon national legislation as much as softened 
wax depends for its form upon the fingers which manipulate it. This 
Territory under your laws sends to Congress a polygamous delegate, who 
sits down at the side of your representatives on equal terms. 

We are poorly perceptive in the East of the capacities of the region 
called the Basin States. Take up Idaho, or Arizona, or Nevada — region? 
into which Mormonism is extending its political power — and observe how 
small Massachusetts is, placed anywhere on these gigantic stretches of the 
mining districts and the pastures between the Rocky Mountains and the 
Sierra Nevada [illustrating]. Here is Professor Brewer's map of the 
forests of the Union [referring to Walker's Statistical Atlas of the Unitea 
States, "open on the platform], and I beg you to notice that a thickly- 
wooded region occupies great portions of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. 
Colorado has a large extent of forests — not as dense as those of Oregon 
and Wisconsin and Maine, but still, as this map shows, about equal in 



MORMONISM. 331 

density to the woods that cover Ohio and Indiana. Utah, as you notice, 
has more forest than Nebraska. I beg you to study Professor Hayden's 
fascinating map of Colorado, a piece of the finest geographical work ever 
done in America or anywhere in the world [referring to the new govern- 
ment map of Colorado, open on the platform]. You will find in it at a 
glance proof that Colorado and Utah are not deserts. We think of the 
Basin States as if they were a dry land, where no man is, and in which 
no multitude of human beings can ever find a prosperous home. This 
spotted tract of yellow [referring to the map of Colorado] represents a 
stretch of sage-brush. When irrigated that land is tropically fertile. 
This other shade of yellow represents good pasture-land. Here grows 
the strangely nutritious buifalo-grass, which amazed me by its sweetness 
when I plucked tufts of it near Cheyenne. On the rivers, where the 
color deepens, you have good agricultural land. But notice the large 
stretch of forests along the skirts of the mountains. The different colors 
of green show the pines, the cedars, and the quaking aspens. If you 
look at the other indications on this map, you will find whole tiers of 
counties underlaid with coal, and these mountain-ranges thickly sifted in 
all their rifts with iron and silver and gold. The same is true of Nevada 
and Utah. The silver-mines of Utah have yielded forty million dollars' 
worth of ore in the last ten years. A Salt Lake daily newspaper pub- 
lishes five columns of mining news. The American Bluebeard rules 
over the American Potosi. 

Put your ear, then, on the Wahsatch Hills ; listen to the subterranean 
conspiracies in politics at Washington ; fasten your attention on the throb- 
bing of the heart of Christian America ; and summarize, if you can, this 
whole Mormon case in a series of propositions, one flowing from the 
other : 

1. The present anti-polygamy laws of the United States do not make 
polygamy an offence in all cases, but only polygamy which is not yet 
three years old. The statute of limitations bars prosecutions for polyg- 
amy after three years from the date of the ceremony of the polygamous 
marriage. 

2. Weak and toothless as this law is, it remained a dead letter on the 
national statute-books until the decision of the Supreme Court in the 
Reynolds case proved it to be constitutional. 

3. Under the present law the leaders of the Mormon hierarchy who 
took plural wives more than three years ago cannot be prosecuted. The 
Mormon delegate in Congress, unless he has taken a fifth wife within 
three years, cannot be reached by this enactment. In practice, polyga- 



332 THE GREAT WEST. 

mous marriages take place in Utah every month, are kept secret, and the 
violators of the law expect at the end of the three years of concealment 
to confers the marriages and laugh at the law. Judge Van Zile of Salt 
Lake City, whose opinion is everywhere respected among the Gentile 
population of Utah, lately said : " Removing the limitation clause 
and making polygamy a continuous oifence is my pet measure. As it 
is now, an old man marries a young girl secretly, lets her live with 
her parents three years, and then claims her and snaps his fingers at 
the officials." 

4. The present national laws against polygamy have another weakness, 
in the fact that they require evidence of the ceremony of a plural mar- 
riage as proof of polygamy. The ceremony usually takes place in the 
secrecy of a Mormon endowment- house, and trustworthy evidence as to 
what is done there cannot be obtained from a Mormon before a Gentile 

jury- 
Not long ago a Mormon official was imprisoned three days for refusing 
to reply to questions put to him on cross-examination before a Gentile 
jury about a ceremony performed in a plural marriage in an endowment- 
house. When the time of punishment was over a vast procession of Mor- 
mons met him at the prison-doors, to welcome, as they said, Daniel from 
the lions' den. That collection of the followers of the false American 
prophet trampled the American flag under their feet within three days of 
the time when I saw the streets of Salt Lake City, and the tremor which 
their disloyal proceedings had caused was felt not only there, but from 
side to side of the Union wherever the news was understood. 

5. It has been proved by the confessions of apostate Mormons and by 
the experience of Federal courts in Utah that the oaths taken in the Mor- 
mon endowment-houses are considered by the Mormons to be of paramount 
authority over any oaths taken before a Gentile court under State or na- 
tional law. 

6. It has been proved by long experience that the Mormon endowment- 
house is a nursery of disloyalty. 

The new Endowment-House in process of erection on the Temple area 
in Salt Lake City is surpassed by not more than two or three buildings 
on this continent in cost and magnificence. It has narrow windows and 
walls of granite nine feet thick. It looks like the Bastile or Cologne 
cathedral without its towers. It may in fifty years become serviceable as 
a State-house for a loyal legislature, but whoever sees it will not be likely 
to conclude that Mormonism is to vanish in an hour. 

7. The oaths of the Mormon endowment-house cannot be violated with- 



MORMONISM. 333 

out penalties which extend from the confiscation of goods to the severance 
of the windpipe. [Sensation.'] 

Brigham Young was often profane in the pulpit, and sometimes made 
there a gesture intended to symbolize the cutting of the throats of apos- 
tates. " They are wicked men," he would say, " and they ought to be cut 
off;" and with these words he would draw his hand across his neck, with 
the extended thumb rubbing against the throat [sensation], and the secret 
police well understood his meaning. You may say I am here trespassing 
on the region of the imagination, but I hold in my hand an important 
document, just issued at Salt Lake City, entitled "The Mormon Endowment- 
House: A Graphic Exposure of the Treasonable Institution where Polyga- 
mous Marriages are Solemnized. By an Eye-witness." Judge Boreman, 
who sent it to me, writes on it, in his own hand : " All apostate Mormons 
say that this statement is true, and I learn through private sources that 
the Mormons admit its correctness." According to this document, four 
grips are given in the course of the ceremonies in the endowment-house. 
As I read here, " The penalty for revealing the first grip is that you will 
have your throat cut from ear to ear and your tongue torn from your 
mouth. The sign of the penalty is drawing the hand, with the thumb 
pointing toward the throat, sharply across the neck." What did Brigham 
Young mean by this gesture, repeated again and again in public a week 
or two before certain secret murders? The penalty for revealing the 
second grip is " to be sawn asunder and your members cast into the sea. 
The sign of this penalty is drawing the hand sharply across the middle 
of the body." 

When the chief power of the Mormon Church is summarized in one 
man like Brigham Young, and he says that the followers of Joseph, the 
son of Joseph Smith, who do not believe in polygamy, should be cut off, 
and makes these definite gestures before an audience who have all gone 
through a Mormon endowment-house, is that anything you can laugh 
at, my surprising friends ? This is your Territory. This is what has 
happened under your sweet and holy laws. The graves of those who 
have been buried in Utah after secret murders are so numerous that, with 
the Federal judges of Salt Lake City, I believe that if the winding-sheets 
of these victims could be put together into one banner the shadow of the 
black flag would cover half Utah. Twenty years after the Mountain 
Meadows massacre, John D. Lee, one of the principal tools of the Mor- 
mon priesthood in that ghastly slaughter, expiated his crimes by his execu- 
tion on the spot of their occurrence • but men more guilty than he yet go 
in Utah unwhipped of justice. 



334 THE GREAT WEST. 

8. Were it not for the presence of Federal troops in Utah to-day these 
penalties, including the death of apostates by what is called " blood atone- 
ment " (that is, the shedding of the blood of an apostate to save his soul), 
would be executed by the priesthood, as they were executed in the bloody 
years of the supremacy of Brigham Young. 

" Blood atonement " Brigham Young preached from the pulpit again 
and again, and not in rash, extemporaneous language. The utterances of 
Brigham Young concerning " blood atonement " were fully reported by 
stenographers, and then revised and pruned by his own secretary and 
published in the official Mormon newspaper in Utah ; and not only 
there, but in The Journal of Discourses, a Mormon publication issued at 
Liverpool. Judge Cradlebaugh on the floor of Congress read passages 
out of these speeches, and they are cited at large in the best books on 
Mormonism. (See Stenhouse, Rocky Mountain Saints, p. 299.) This 
measurelessly monstrous doctrine was not only preached, but again and 
again, in the days when Mormonism was isolated from the Federal 
power, "blood atonement" was practised by those who thought that 
the shedding of the blood of an apostate was the only way to save 
his soul. 

9. It is therefore evident, from the experience of the Federal courts 
in Utah, that the laws against polygamy need amendment in three 
respects : 

(1.) Polygamy should be made a continuous offence, existing as long as 
the parties live together as man and wife. 

(2.) The statute of limitations should not begin to run until the parties 
cease to live together. 

(3.) Living together as man and wife, and recognizing each other as 
such, should be sufficient to warrant conviction. No ceremony should be 
required to be proved. 

10. But Mormonism, as based on the endowment-house oaths, has two 
tap-roots — polygamy and priestly despotism ; the latter supported by the 
tithing system, the police system of spies, and the power of life and 
death. 

11. Under a State constitution prohibiting polygamy the second of these 
chief roots would still exist, even if there were passed, an amendment to the 
national Constitution prohibiting polygamy. 

12. Admitted to the Union, under State and national constitutional 
provisions prohibiting polygamy, Utah, manacled by this priestly des- 
potism, with its tithing system and the power of life and death, would 
have a Mormon governor and State officers, and Mormon State judges. 



MORMONISM. 335 

Every murder and like felony in the State would be tried before these 
judges and before Mormon juries. 

13. It is the opinion of the Federal judges now in Utah that this set 
of circumstances might not only prevent all future trials of Mormon 
murderers, but inaugurate a reign of terror. 

14. Gentile mining, smelting, railroad, and agricultural operations 
under a Mormon governor and legislature would be taxed so as to be- 
come unprofitable. Gentile schools and churches would be so discrimi- 
nated against by the State law that they would cease to exist. 

15. This aspect of the Mormon question has great significance for 
those who are giving money to establish Gentile schools and churches 
in Utah. At present there is no security and no certainty that these 
institutions will be allowed to exist in Utah as a State under the 
theocratic power of the endowment-houses and the Mormon priest- 
hood. 

16. An amendment to the national Constitution prohibiting polygamy, 
although useful and desirable, would therefore not be sufficient to settle 
the Mormon question. If Utah were admitted as a State with the theo- 
cratic power of her priesthood unbroken, Mormonism would yet live on 
that second tap-root. Such a constitutional amendment prohibiting polyg- 
amy might tempt political parties in need of the electoral votes of Utah 
to admit her to the Union, with her disloyal endowment-house oaths in 
full power over the people, and, by being used as an excuse for an ena- 
bling act and blinding the public to the actual perils of the case, work 
positive mischief. 

17. Effective legislation against Mormonism must cut both its tap- 
roots ; and therefore the legislation needed should strike both at polyg- 
amy and at the disloyal hierarchy supported by the tithing system and 
the disloyal oaths of the endowment-houses. 

18. President Hayes proposes to Congress the disfranchisement of 
Mormons for violating the national laws against polygamy, and also dis- 
franchisement for aiding and abetting those who violate these laws. In 
detail (see New York Tribune, December 26, 1879), the President recom- 
mends the establishment by Congress of a board of registration, consist- 
ing of the governor of the Territory and the judges of the district courts, 
or persons who should be appointed by them. The duty of this board 
would be to pass upon the qualifications of every person who desired to 
vote in any election or to exercise any of the rights or privileges of citi- 
zens. Something like the following examination would take place, as 
President Hayes thinks: 



336 THE GREAT WEST. 

Are you a Mormon ? Yes. 

Are you a practical polygamist ? No» 

Do you support or countenance any one who is a practical polygamist ? 
No. 

Are you a member of the Mormon Church ? Yes. 

Do you pay tithes for its support ? Yes. 

Who are the officers of the Mormon Church ? John Taylor, George 
Q. Cannon, and others. 

Are they polygamists ? I do not know. {Laughter. ~\ 

On such a showing as this the President thinks the registration board 
would have to refuse the applicant. President Hayes hopes that by 
applying such a test as this Gentiles only would be able to be registered. 
According to this plan, no one not registered would be allowed to vote or 
hold any office under the United States, the Territory, or local govern- 
ment, or to sit on juries. Under these arrangements juries could be 
trusted and the Territory would be taken out of the hands of the Mor- 
mons. One of the first results which the President expects would flow 
from a political revolution in Utah such as he would bring about would 
be the election of a Gentile legislature, which would act in harmony with 
the governor of the Territory. Little by little, under a pressure like 
this, the President thinks that not only polygamy, but the payment of 
tithes, would soon become very unpopular among the Mormons in Utah. 
(See New York Tribune, December 26, 1879.) Prominent Gentile resi- 
dents of Salt Lake City have assured him that neither the institution of 
plural marriages nor the theocratic power of the Church could survive 
five years under this proposed legislation, which may God bless and 
speed ! {Applause.] 

19. There are two parties among the Mormons — one a radical party, 
representing the hierarchy, and the other a conservative party, made up 
of men of business and property, who would have much to lose by a col- 
lision with the Federal power. 

20. President Hayes's plan strikes at the tithing system, as well as at 
polygamy. It is calculated to divide the Mormon Church, by bringing 
the radical and conservative parties into open antagonism against each 
other, and is therefore admirably adapted to break up the power of the 
disloyal hierarchy. 

21. This plan has the vehement approval of Federal judges in Utah ; 
and without its execution their opinion is that the Gentile population 
there under a State government would have no adequate protection in 
respect to life, property, and education. The Mormon population of 



MORMONISM. 337 

Utah is now estimated at one hundred and fifty thousand by the Mor- 
mons themselves, and the Gentile at only ten or twelve thousand. 

22. It is not likely that a Congress which allows a seat to a leprous 
polygamist will legislate on the Mormon question as the case requires ; 
and therefore the duty of the press and pulpit and independent platform 
is to arouse public sentiment and bring it up to the height of demanding 
the practical measures recommended by the Federal judges in Utah and 
by the national Executive. [Applause.] 

Over the gate of Brigham Young's grounds in Salt Lake City there is 
a rude representation of an eagle striking its talons into a beehive. This 
is an excellent symbol of Mormonism — rapacity preying on industry ! 
[Applause^] I have much sympathy with the beehive — none at all with 
the eagle. [Laughter. ~\ I pity the Mormon people ; and because I fore- 
see for the Basin region a great future I wish the talons of the voracious 
hierarchy to be taken swiftly out of the honey gathered in Utah by the 
energy of these peasants brought over from Europe. But the symbol 
above the gate is not complete. You must wind around that humming 
straw hive some emblem of the Mormon secret, deadly police. Let a 
viper with poisonous fangs coil around the hive and take his directions 
from the eagle above him, and your symbol is more perfect than it was. 
And yet it is not complete. You must add the bird of the night (the 
owl), which often lives, it is said, in the same hole with the rattlesnake. 
This winged creature will represent the subtlest misleading element in 
Mormonism — priestly fanaticism ; the solemn pretence of possessing in- 
dividual access to God's secrets ; personal inspiration, the idea that God 
speaks through the prophet, the revelator, and seer at the head of the 
Mormon hierarchy. There is one other bird that must be added, and the 
symbol will be complete — the strutting barnyard fowl, emblem of polyg- 
amy. [Laughter and applause.~\ Mormonism is the poultry philosophy. 
[Applause.'] The Latter-Day swindle arranges human beings as if they 
were poultry. It gives woman not a home, but a harem and a coop. 

The Bible in favor of polygamy ! Orson Pratt, when he had a debate 
on that topic, admitted that he depended on modern revelations for the 
ultimate defence of plural marriages. The Jews to-day are not a polyg- 
amous people, and they have no sacred guide but the Old Testament. It 
is perfectly well understood that the regulations concerning polygamy in 
the Old Testament were intended to girdle the tree and make it fall ; and 
it has fallen with the very people who take those Scriptures as their only 
authority. The unscriptural, the loathsome, and the lawless thing in 
Mormonism is polygamy. The highest of the ecclesiastics in the Mor- 

22 



338 THE GREAT WEST. 

mon hierarchy, when they are forced to entire frankness, say that they 
know polygamy is to be defended because of modern rather than by 
ancient revelation. " Thou shalt not take one wife to another to vex 
her." This is the true sense of a law in Leviticus (chap, xviii. verse 18). 
" God shall make of these twain," and not of more than twain, " one 
flesh." Divorce, adapted to the hardness of men's hearts, was indeed 
permitted, but it was not so from the beginning. The nature of things, 
the mysterious divine law which brings the two portions of the human 
race into the world in substantially equal numbers, is the proclamation of 
the divine origin of monogamy. When the Mormon ecclesiastics have 
opportunity to reach out their loathsome hands into the sweet homes of 
Scandinavia, Belgium, and France and the peasant population of Eng- 
land, and pluck thence the brightest flowers, they may find that polygamy 
is not assailed as a monopoly. But what if there could be no such sup- 
plies from sources outside of their own circles ? What if the course of 
immigration did not alter the natural distribution of populations, and 
polygamists were to depend on the law of coequal heredity ? If they 
were to be called on to supply their own circles, it would be found that 
of all the accursed monopolies on the earth polygamy is the worst, for it 
takes away from thousands the opportunity of founding homes, in order 
that the few may riot in debauchery under the thinnest of religious dis- 
guises. 

If there is anything that ought to call down on the American people 
the thunderbolts of God's justice, it is laughter, indifference, cool political 
calculations as to the chances of parties when electoral votes are for sale in 
Utah. It is bargaining with this strutting, polygamous fowl ; bargain- 
ing with this eagle who is striking his talons into the beehive ; bargain- 
ing with this viper which coils around the feet of the birds who are his 
mates ; bargaining with the whole loathsome group and bringing them 
into the Union to keep company in a happy family with the Puritan 
dove ! God avert such a result ! [Applause.~] 

You think that by holding the blazing lantern of Christian schools 
before the eyes of these birds you can frighten them away ; but are you 
sure you are to have the opportunity to hold the lantern there after Utah 
comes into the Union ? I have defended the cause of Colorado College ; I 
wish to-day to lift up my voice, feeble as it is, in support of all enter- 
prises for Christian schools in Utah ; but there are great and indispen- 
sable preliminaries to the success of these institutions. Once admit Utah 
to the Union, even with polygamy prohibited by the State and the national 
Constitution, and let a Mormon hierarchy, with a tithing system and the 



MORMONISM. 339 

power of life and death, manage affairs under State rights, and these 
schools for which you are paying money will be starved to death 
and taxed out of existence. These are the opinions of Federal judges in 
Salt Lake City. These views accord with letters from Utah hardly dry 
from the hands that spread the ink upon the paper, and which I might 
read here. These are the secret solemn convictions of those who have 
studied the great problem on the spot. It is for us here on the Atlantic 
seaboard to join hands with the oppressed populations of the Basin States, 
and so arouse the patriotic and Christian sentiment of the whole land that 
any political party which bargains with that group of birds and with that 
viper shall be crushed under the heel of public execration. [Applause.] 




OREGON. 



OREGON is the extreme north-western State of the Union, being 
situated between the forty-second and forty-sixth degrees of north 
latitude. It is bounded on the east by Idaho, on the west by the Pacific 
Ocean, on the north by the Columbia River, and on the south by Califor- 
nia and Nevada. It extends, on an average, for three hundred and fifty 
miles east and west, and for two hundred and seventy-five miles north 
and south, and contains 95,274 square miles, with an area of about sixty 
million acres. 

HISTORICAL. 

In 1792, Captain Gray of Boston, commanding the ship Columbia, 
discovered and ascended the river now named after his ship. The dis- 
covery formed the basis for the subsequent claim of the United States to, 
and acquisition of, the territory now embraced in Oregon. In 1804-5 
the Lewis and Clarke expedition first made known to the world the great 
resources of this portion of the Pacific coast. In 1811, John Jacob 
Astor established a trading-post at the mouth of the river, and it was 
named Astoria, in his honor. It is now a town, and noted for its ex- 
tensive salmon-canneries. From 1816 to 1846 the American and British 
governments held Oregon by "joint occupancy" under a formal treaty. 
In 1846, Oregon was formally ceded to the United States by treaty with 
Great Britain, and in 1848 the Territory was organized, and the year 
following General Joseph Lane was appointed Territorial governor. 

Emigration to Oregon was very much encouraged by the "donation 
laws" passed by Congress, giving to married couples six hundred and 
forty acres and to single men three hundred and twenty acres — that is, to 
all who had emigrated, or would emigrate by December 1, 1850. The gold- 
fever in California attracted many to the Pacific coast, and Oregon re- 
ceived some immigrants. In 1859, Oregon was admitted into the Union 

340 



OREGON. 



341 



as a sovereign State, with a population, at the time, of 52,465 souls. The 
present population is estimated at two hundred thousand. 

GEOGRAPHICAL. 

The Cascade Mountains, a continuation of the mountain-ranges of Cali- 
fornia, stretch across the State north and south at a distance of about a 
hundred and ten miles from the Pacific. Numerous barren, snow-capped 
peaks of volcanic origin rise from them to great height, of which the 
most elevated are Mount Hood, 11,225 feet; Mounts Jefferson, Thielsen, 
Scott, Pitt, and the Three Sisters. The Cascade range divides Oregon 
into two distinct sections, known as Eastern and Western. Of these, the 
former contains by far the most territory, but the latter is more thickly 
settled, containing nine-tenths of the population of the State. 

WESTERN OREGON. 

The climate of this section of the State is peculiarly mild and equable. 
The temperature is moderated by the trade-winds of the Pacific, as well 
as by the proximity of the great Japan Current or Pacific Gulf Stream. 
The differences of temperature marking the seasons in other parts of the 
world being unknown, it may be said indeed that there are but two sea- 
sons in Oregon — namely, a wet and a dry one. The wet or rainy season 
usually begins about the middle of November, and lasts until early in 
May, with many intermissions of fine weather for days, and even for 
weeks. From early in May till the end of June the weather is usually 
warm and clear, with occasional showers, which refresh Nature and dress 
it in charming verdure. The dry season proper begins about July and 
lasts until October. 

Oregon is almost exempt from the violent atmospheric disturbances so 
common in the Eastern States. Thunderstorms are of very rare occur- 
rence, and hailstorms, hurricanes, whirlwinds, earthquakes, and other de- 
structive phenomena are almost unknown. The climate is very condu- 
cive to health ; the exemption from sharp winds and violent changes of 
temperature thus secured renders the inhabitants less liable to throat and 
lung troubles, rheumatism, and inflammatory diseases generally than in 
other parts of the Union. According to the official returns of 1870, the 
death-rate in Oregon is lower than in any other State or Territory in the 
Union excepting Idaho, being only sixty-nine per cent, of the popula- 
tion, while in California it is 1.16; Massachusetts, 1.77 ; Illinois, 1.33; 
Missouri, 1.63. 



342 THE GREAT WEST. 



SOIL, EESOUECES, AND EEODUCTIONS. 

Willamette Valley, the acknowledged garden of the Pacific coast, is 
one hundred and fifty miles long and thirty to sixty miles wide. In this 
valley are situated many thriving towns and the mass of the population. 
Columbia River Valley, Rogue River Valley, and Umpqua Valley, with 
those of their tributaries, are the principal valleys of the western section. 
The soil in the river-bottoms is a black loam or marl, with subsoil. In 
the hill-lands is a red-brown or black loam, not so deep as in the valleys, 
but sustaining luxuriant grasses. The leading grain staple of Oregon is 
wheat, which is noted for its superior quality and large yield, and it com- 
mands a high price in the grain-markets of the world. The berry is very 
fair and full, often weighing from sixty-five to sixty-nine pounds to the 
bushel. Oats take the second rank in importance. The standard weight 
for oats is twenty-six pounds to the bushel, but the country is so well 
adapted to their growth that the weight of forty-five, even of fifty, pounds 
to the bushel is often reached. Barley is also successfully raised. Corn 
is grown in many localities with success, but is not made a specialty, 
the average summer being too cool for its successful culture. With good 
cultivation the wheat-lands will yield from twenty-six to forty-five bush- 
els of wheat per acre, forty to seventy bushels of barley, and sixty-eight 
to eighty bushels of oats. Cabbages, turnips, squashes, beets, carrots, par- 
sneps, cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions grow in profusion. Potatoes yield 
from two to five hundred bushels to the acre. The crops of cereals are re- 
markably free from any drawbacks. No failure of the wheat-crop has 
occurred since the settlement of the country — that is, during a continuous 
period of thirty-three years. 

Oregon excels in fruit-culture. Apples, pears, plums, prunes, cherries, 
with all the small fruits, thrive abundantly. Fruit-raising in Western 
Oregon has already grown to a large business and promises excellent re- 
turns. 

Timothy or herd-grass grows well in every part of the State, and is the 
staple product for hay. It cuts three tons to the acre, even in the foot- 
hills and mountains. Red and white clover, with proper cultivation, will 
grow luxuriantly ; alfalfa, blue-grass, red-top grass, and orchard-grass do 
finely everywhere. 

The mild winter climate, and the fact that the native grasses remain 
green during most of the year, make Oregon an excellent country for 
raising every kind of stock. Oregon wool is of recognized quality, owing 
to the cool summers, warm winters, and continued green feed for sheep. 



OREGON. 343 

MINERALS. 

The mineral wealth of Oregon is very great, but as yet imperfectly 
developed, mainly owing to want of capital. Gold was first discovered 
in 1851 in the counties of Jackson and Josephine, in the extreme south 
of the State, and mining industry promises to take a new start here, 
placer- as well as quartz-mines having been discovered which are very 
promising. Baker and Grant counties, in Eastern Oregon, have also 
yielded many millions of the precious metal. In Baker county, especial- 
ly in the vicinity of Baker City, gold-mining is carried on very actively 
at this time with good results. On the ocean-beach near Coos Bay 
placer-mines are worked to a considerable extent. Rich gold quartz- 
lodes have been discovered and partially worked in the southern part of 
the Cascade Mountains, but their distance from railroads and the want 
of machinery for working them have until now prevented their develop- 
ment on a scale commensurate with their richness. The yearly gold pro- 
duct of Oregon represents now a value of over $1,500,000. 

Lead and copper have been found in large quantities in Jackson, 
Josephine, and Douglas counties. Iron ore exists in large deposits 
throughout the State. Coal abounds no less than iron. The most im- 
portant are the Coos Bay mines. A fleet of steamers is busy carrying 
coal from these mines to San Francisco, where it is highly esteemed. 

FISHERIES. 

The lakes, rivers, streams, and creeks in Oregon beyond the reach of 
tide-water teem with trout of superior quality. The salmon-fisheries of 
the Columbia River are of great commercial importance. The fishing- 
season begins in April, and is over by the end of July. The fish are 
taken in tide-water by nets and traps in immense quantities as they ascend 
the river fresh from the ocean. The Columbia salmon is very fat, of 
peculiarly fine flavor, and is much prized in the markets of the world. 

TOWNS. 

Astoria, the county-seat of Clatsop county, is situated twelve miles from 
the mouth of Columbia River. It has a fine water-front and good land- 
ing facilities. At present it numbers between three and four thousand 
inhabitants. The principal business is the canning of salmon. 

The city of Portland, built on both banks of the Willamette River, 
about one hundred and ten miles from the Pacific Ocean, is not only the 
chief city of the State, but the commercial metropolis of the North-west. 
It has a most beautiful location and charming surroundings. Ocean 



344 THE GREAT WEST. 

vessels of heaviest draught ascend the Willamette River and take in 
cargoes here. The Oregon Steamship Company's iron ships run regu- 
larly between Portland and San Francisco. Other lines continue the 
trade with Puget Sound, British Columbia, and Alaska. The foreign 
flags on the shipping at the wharves give some idea of the direct com- 
merce with European and Asiatic ports, while a fleet of steamboats run- 
ning up and down the Columbia River, besides many railroads now cen- 
tring here, is required to attend to the interior trade. Portland, with a 
population of twenty thousand, is perhaps the most flourishing city of its 
size in the Union. Its business extends far inland and a vast territory is 
tributary to it. It has a commodious custom-house and post-office, a 
score of schools, numerous churches, including a cathedral, and a public 
library that would do credit to a much larger city in any of the older 
States. The Morning Oregonian, a lively and influential journal, is the 
leading paper of this section, and has a very extensive circulation. 

Within the famous valley of the Willamette are situated nearly all 
the towns in the State. A railroad already two hundred miles in length 
extends from north to south. 

Oregon City, the county-seat of Clackamas county, on the Falls of the 
Willamette, twelve miles south of Portland, is an important manufactur- 
ing point. 

Salem, the capital of the State and the county-seat of Marion county, 
fifty-two miles south of Portland, on the east bank of the Willamette, is 
a pleasing city of five thousand inhabitants. 

Albany, Harrisburg, Corvallis Junction, and Eugene City, on the 
Willamette, are important towns. 



ROUTES AND SCENERY. 

" Whether it be business or pleasure that calls him hither, the traveller 
cannot fail to be pleased with this section of the great North-west," says 
a writer. " In its scenery, as well as in its natural resources, and in the 
character of the people, it will greatly surpass his expectations. Oregon 
may be entered from the line of the Central Pacific Railroad by stage 
through Northern California to Roseburg, the southern terminus of the 
Oregon and California Railroad, which runs thence along the Umpqua and 
Willamette Valleys down to Portland. But the trip from San Francisco 
to Portland is now made in two days on board a splendid ocean-steamer. 
From the Golden Gate to the mouth of the Columbia the sail along the 
coast — with its wave-washed rocks crowned here and there with forests 



OREGON. 345 

and its indentations shining with golden sands — unfolds five hundred and 
fifty miles of imposing panorama. The Columbia River, twice as long 
as the Rhine, five times as long as the Hudson, is far more magnificent 
than either. The upper Columbia, from Vancouver to the Dalles, is es- 
pecially rich in splendid scenery. The lower Columbia, from the Cas- 
cades to the sea, has no superior on the continent as a commercial inland 
water-way. Indeed, in some respects the Columbia River is the grand- 
est river in the world. Borne up or down on its mighty flood, where its 
walls rise thousands of feet above the tide, and cascades of surpassing 
beauty — such as the Falls of Multnomah — descend from dizzy heights, 
one gets new impressions of the sublimity of Nature." 

The Columbia River possesses many attractions in its wonderful sce- 
nery. It is the " great water-way of the Pacific Slope." It drains over 
four hundred thousand superficial square miles in its course. Rising in 
the Rocky Mountains, in British America just north of the United States 
line, it takes a due southerly course, traversing the eastern half of Wash- 
ington Territory until it reaches Oregon. It then turns directly west- 
ward, forming the boundary-line between Washington Territory on the 
north and Oregon on the south. The Snake, a large and navigable 
stream, rises far to the south, in Idaho, and joins the Columbia near the 
point where it first touches Oregon. The Columbia, in its grand march 
to the sea, bursts through a mountain-range and forms those wonderful 
series of waterfalls, the Cascades. These, however, are most formidable 
obstructions to the navigation of the river, but the government is 
expending a considerable sum in building a canal. The Oregon Steam 
Navigation Company has built a railroad around them, and freight and 
passengers must be transferred. The ride over this road is exceedingly 
interesting. The scenery is wild and magnificent, and you here catch a 
glimpse of the old fort or block-house where Phil Sheridan was stationed 
in early days during the Indian troubles. A trip up this grand river is 
a charming voyage to all lovers of beautiful scenery. 

EASTERN OREGON. 

In this part of Oregon there is much less rainfall in the winter, and 
consequently a greater degree of cold and more dryness in the summer, 
which renders this section even more exempt from throat and lung troubles 
and rheumatism than in the region west of the Cascade Mountains. 

The tide of emigration is toward Eastern Oregon, and the wonderfully 
productive valleys will soon be populated with an enterprising and thrifty 
people. The emigration is largely from New England and the Western 



346 THE GREAT WEST. 

States, carrying with it the advanced social and educational character of 
these localities. With lines of railroad pressing east from Portland, west 
from the Mississippi, and north through Utah and Idaho, the fertile 
lands of Eastern Oregon will speedily have enlarged transportation 
facilities with assured low tariffs. 

Stock-raising is more extensively carried on in this section than in any 
other portion of the State. 




WASHINGTON TERRITORY. 

BY GOVERNOE E. P. FEERY. 



THE Territory of Washington is divided by the Cascade range of 
mountains into two nearly equal divisions, which are popularly 
known as Eastern and Western Washington, differing widely in climate, 
soil, and, to some extent, in productions. 

WESTERN WASHINGTON. 

A very large portion of Western Washington is covered with dense for- 
ests of fir trees of immense height and girth. The average height of these 
trees is more than two hundred feet, in many cases exceeding three hun- 
dred, with diameters up to twelve feet. 

Tested by an experience of more than twenty years, fir timber has been 
found to be a material almost unsurpassed for ship-building. Ships of 
more than a thousand tons have been built in this Territory exclusively 
of fir timber and lumber, which rank as A No. 1 with underwriters at 
San Francisco and Liverpool. 

Spars from Puget Sound have for many years been shipped in large 
quantities direct to England, France, and elsewhere on the continent of 
Europe. 

It has been estimated that the cost of building ships here is thirty-five 
per cent, less than the cost at Bath, Maine, or at any other Atlantic ship- 
yard. In the near future ship-building on Puget Sound will constitute 
one of the most important branches of productive industry in the Ter- 
ritory. 

RESOURCES. 

The principal resources of Western Washington are coal and lumber. 
Coal has been found in nearly every county. In fact, the entire Puget 
Sound Basin, extending over an area of more than twenty thousand 



348 THE GREAT WEST. 

square miles, is supposed to be a vast coal-field. Mines are now in 
operation in the counties of Whatcom, King, Pierce, and Thurston. The 
daily production is about six hundred tons, the larger portion of which 
is exported to San Francisco. 

The lumber interest at present takes precedence above all others. There 
are twelve large saw-mills upon Puget Sound, each having the capacity 
to manufacture daily from fifty to two hundred thousand feet of lumber. 
The present annual production is about two hundred and fifty million 
feet. More than two hundred million feet are exported to San Francisco, 
South America, the Sandwich Islands, and to other points. 

There are also exported from Puget Sound barley, oats, potatoes, wool, 
hops, hoop-poles, hides, canned and barrelled salmon, oysters, and many 
other articles. The aggregate annual value of exportations from West- 
ern Washington is estimated at over five million dollars. 

Four-fifths of Western Washington has a gravelly soil unfit for culti- 
vation. This is especially the case where the fir tree grows exclusively. 
The other fifth is made up of rich alluvial land in the valleys of the rivers 
and smaller streams, of prairies, and reclaimed tide-marsh land. On these 
lands all the cereals except corn, and all the fruits and vegetables grown 
in the Northern States, are raised, of a quality and in quantity and size 
only known on the Pacific coast. 

While Western Washington as a whole cannot be classed as agricul- 
tural, yet it has an area of more than five thousand square miles of ex- 
cellent farming land, which will be ultimately brought under cultivation 
and be capable of maintaining a large population. 

PUGET SOUND. 

The great feature of Western Washington is Puget Sound. It extends 
from the British line on the north and from the Straits of Juan de Fuca 
on the west to Olympia in the interior, and has a coast-line of fifteen 
hundred and ninety-four miles. It can be navigated with safety at all 
seasons of the year by the largest ocean-steamers or the smallest sailboat. 
Severe storms on its waters are unknown, and there is not a bar, shoal, 
rock, or other obstruction to navigation from the Pacific Ocean to Olym- 
pia, a distance of more than two hundred miles. It is made up of a con- 
tinuous succession of bays, inlets, and harbors, and is so dotted with 
islands that it is impossible to get more than two or three miles from land 
at any point on its waters. It is, in short, one vast, noble harbor, destined 
to be the western terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad, and on its 
completion, being on the line of the shortest route between the Atlantic 



WASHINGTON TERRITORY. 349 

States and Japan and China, it will be the entrepot of a large portion of 
the commerce of the Occident and the Orient. 



Strictly speaking, there are only two seasons in Western Washington — 
winter and summer. The winter or wet season commences about the first 
of October and ends about the first of April. During this period there 
will be many weeks of pleasant weather. The average annual rainfall 
in the Puget Sound Basin is about fifty inches. It will appear almost 
incredible that in this northern latitude, between 46° and 49°, ice and 
snow are seldom seen. The average temperature during the winter 
months is 39°, and during the summer 63°, a mean difference of only 
24°. The maximum temperature for a few days in summer will be 
about 90°, but the nights are always cool and refreshing. The summer 
months are exceedingly pleasant, and the climate during this period com- 
pares favorably with that of Southern Italy. One singular and as yet 
unexplained climatic feature is, that thunder and lightning are of very 
rare occurrence. 

EASTERN WASHINGTON. 

The vast rolling prairies of Eastern Washington make it one of the 
best grazing and wheat-growing regions on the continent. There is little 
timber, except on the margins of the rivers and smaller streams. It has 
an area of wheat-land capable of producing, with ordinary culture, more 
than one hundred million bushels annually. A failure of crops never 
occurs. 

The present season the yield is regarded as not an average, and it will 
be twenty-five bushels per acre. Forty to sixty bushels is not unusual. 
The wheat-product of this region the past season will be about one mil- 
lion five hundred thousand bushels. One million bushels will be trans- 
ported down the Columbia River to Portland, and from thence to Europe, 
and, as heretofore, will probably be claimed as a product of the State of 
Oregon. All the fruits except tropical, and all vegetables, of superior 
quality, are grown in great abundance. 

The climate and soil are particularly adapted to the production of 
peaches and grapes, large quantities of which are raised of unsurpassed 
excellence and flavor. A very nutritious indigenous grass, commonly 
known as bunch-grass (Festuca pratensis), grows spontaneously over many 
thousand square miles, affording excellent range for stock. It is self- 
curative, and retains its nutritious qualities when allowed to remain on 
the ground uncut. The raising of stock is extensively prosecuted. A 



350 THE ORE AT WEST. 

market is found on Puget Sound and in British Columbia, and large num- 
bers are annually driven to the Union Pacific Railroad, and thence trans- 
ported to Chicago. 

It can safely be asserted that Eastern "Washington will, in a few years, 
rival California in the production of all the cereals, both as regards aggre- 
gate quantity raised and quality, and will far surpass that or any other 
State in the average yield per acre. 

CLIMATE. 

The average temperature in Eastern Washington is as follows : Spring, 
52°; summer, 73°; autumn, 53°; winter, 34°. The average annual 
rainfall is about twenty inches. 

AREA. 

Washington Territory embraces an area of seventy thousand square 
miles, being about three hundred and fifty miles long east and west and 
two hundred miles wide. It extends from the Pacific Ocean to Idaho, 
and from British Columbia to Oregon. Its surface is diversified by 
mountain, valley, and plain, more than two-thirds of it being sufficiently 
level for settlement and cultivation, and much of the remainder valuable 
for timber, grass, and mineral deposits. It is estimated that there are 
35,000,000 acres of timber-, prairie-, and bottom-lands open to settlement. 
Of these, 20,000,000 are covered with timber, and 5,000,000 are rich allu- 
vial bottom. The population is now estimated at 57,784. 



The principal towns of Western Washington are the following : Olym- 
pia, the capital, situated at the head or southern extremity of the Sound; 
Tocoma, on Puget Sound, is the western terminus of the Northern Pacific 
Railroad ; Seattle, on Elliott Bay, twenty-five miles north of Tocoma, is 
now the largest town in the Territory. The Territorial University is 
located here, and under the present management of Professor Anderson 
is in a very prosperous condition. The situation of the town is very fine 
and the scenery beautiful. The Northern Pacific Railroad may be built 
to this point, which will add materially to its prosperity. Mr. Dexter 
Horton, the leading banker of this city, describes the harbor and ship- 
ping facilities of Seattle as unsurpassed on Puget Sound. 

Port Townsend, Steilacoom, Kalama, Vancouver, are the other towns 
of any size in Western Washington. In the eastern part of the Territory 
Walla Walla is the leading city, and has a most brilliant future, situated 



WASHINGTON TERRITORY. 351 

as it is in a section of rich grain-producing country. It is destined to 
be an important business-centre. 

The tide of emigration has been setting so strongly to Eastern Wash- 
ington, and the interest felt in regard to its resources is so great, we 
append the following from the Walla Union in answer to this question 
from a correspondent : " Give me a general description of the country. 
Tell me how it is for soil, timber, water, and stone. How is it for health 
and climate ?" 

"We answer: Eastern Washington may be generally described as a 
rolling prairie country. The timber is found principally on the Cascade, 
Cour d'Alene, and Blue Mountains, with scattered groves of cottonwood, 
birch, alder, and willow along the streams ; and, as a consequence, mate- 
rial is dear. Lumber sells for from twelve dollars per thousand feet at 
the mills to fifty dollars per thousand feet at the yards, depending on the 
distance that it has to be hauled. Rails are worth about two dollars and 
fifty cents per hundred where cut. The soil is more or less alkaline, with 
a basaltic foundation, which experience has proven to be the best wheat- 
producing compound. 

" The Snake River flows through the country from the Idaho line to 
its junction with the mighty Columbia, which divides what is known as 
the Columbia Basin into eastern and western parts. The eastern part, 
which averages one hundred and twenty miles in width by two hundred 
in length, is generally well watered, being traversed by numerous small 
streams having their sources in the Blue and Cour d'Alene Mountains 
and emptying into the Snake and Columbia Rivers. The bottom-lands on 
these streams are generally narrow patches, which yield large crops of 
hay or grain. The hill-lands between the streams are covered with bunch- 
grass, a very nutritious species, on which cattle keep fat the year round. 
Experience has demonstrated that where the bunch-grass grows thickest, 
there the best and largest crops of wheat can be raised. Fully one half 
of the eastern part of the basin is ' plough-land.' As a rule the Columbia 
and Snake Rivers flow through deep rocky cations. Only at few and 
irregular intervals along them are there to be found bottom-lands of 
sufficient area to make farms. 

"The western part of the Columbia Basin, which is about seventy 
miles broad and two hundred long, is not so well watered as the eastern 
portion. A few streams rise in the Cascade Mountains and empty into 
the Yakima River, which in turn empties into the Columbia. The cha- 
racter of the soil is very similar to that of the eastern portion. The major 
and best part of the western portion of the Columbia Basin is occupied 



352 THE GREAT WEST. 

as Indian reservations. Timber is more plentiful in the western than in 
the eastern portion of the basin. 

" The man who starts for this country expecting to pick up anywhere 
a farm embracing both timber and prairie lands will be sadly disap- 
pointed, while the man wanting a prairie farm yielding an average yearly 
product of twenty-five bushels of wheat per acre, with other grain (save 
corn) in like proportion, will, by a very little effort, find what he wants. 
In this connection it is well to state that the average yield of wheat in 
that part of the Columbia Basin known as the Walla Walla country was, 
during the past harvest, thirty-three bushels per acre. 

" Only a very small fraction of the lands in the Columbia Basin has 
been taken up by actual settlers. Over half of it is included in the 
limits of the grant to the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. This 
company has now several hundred men at work, building its road from 
the mouth of Snake River to Lake Pen d'Oreille, through the heart of 
the eastern portion of the Columbia Basin, while the Oregon Railway 
and Navigation Company is now operating a road in the Walla Walla 
Valley, and making the survey for several other lines. 

" The Northern Pacific Railroad Company sells its land, the odd sec- 
tions, for two dollars and fifty cents per acre cash, or four dollars per 
acre on four years' time, with interest at seven per cent, per annum on 
deferred payments. The government lands are subject to homestead, 
pre-emption, and timber-culture entry, such as are inside limits being 
rated at two dollars and fifty cents per acre. 

" The climate of the country east of the Cascades is mild and equable. 
The summers are never intensely hot, the mercury seldom indicating one 
hundred degrees in the shade during the day, while the nights are gen- 
erally cool enough to make a light blanket on the bed a necessity. The 
days and nights are never sultry and oppressive, as they are in 'the 
States.' The winters are, as a rule, short. During a residence of fifteen 
years in Walla Walla Valley we have experienced but one ' hard winter.' 
That was the winter of 1874-75. That winter commenced in January 
and lasted until the latter part of February. During November and 
December of that year the farmers ploughed the ground and sowed 
grain, and they resumed ploughing and sowing as soon as the snow dis- 
appeared in February. The work of ploughing is generally done dur- 
ing every month of the year. Asa rule, the mercury during the winters 
here seldom indicates as great a degree of cold as zero, and hardly ever 
below it. During our residence several of the winters have been so mild 
that no ice was put up for summer use. Thousands of cattle, horses, and 



WASHINGTON TERRITORY. 353 

sheep are yearly wintered in the Columbia Basin without being fed a 
pound of hay or grain. 

" The great ' saving clause ' of this region is what is called the ' Chi- 
nook/ a warm wind that blows over the country at irregular intervals dur- 
ing the year, melting the snow and ice in winter and purifying the air in 
summer. The Chinook is claimed to be a part of the trade-winds, which, 
blowing up the Pacific coast, diverge up the Columbia through the Cas- 
cade Pass. Whencesoever it cometh, it is a most welcome and beneficent 
visitor. 

"The average rainfall during the past seven years has been 15.50 
inches. The rain falls mostly between October and May, only a few 
showers occurring during the summer. Harvest commences when the 
grain is ready to cut, and is carried on until it is all gathered, without 
regard to the weather. 

" All the fruits usually raised in the temperate zone, including peaches, 
pears, apples, grapes, and other small fruits, grow luxuriantly on the 
bunch-grass lands. Orchards are raised with rapidity, peach trees fre- 
quently bearing in three years from the seed. Fruit this year ' goes a- 
begging for a price ' in Walla Walla Valley. Some years the fruit-crop, 
particularly peaches, proves a failure. A failure of the grain-crop has 
never been recorded in the twenty years this valley has been settled. 

" In point of health the Columbia Basin will compare favorably with 
any other part of the world. The prevailing diseases are colds during 
the fall, winter, and spring, and the green fruit, watermelon, and kindred 
complaints during the summer. Many of our medical men engage in 
farming to make money to live on. 

"Wheat is to-day worth sixty cents per bushel; beef-cattle, from 
fifteen to twenty dollars per head ; horses, depending on breed, from five 
to five thousand dollars each ; sheep, from two dollars and fifty cents to 
fifty dollars per head ; hogs are scarce and dear this year ; everything in 
the line of produce is cheap. 

" The Columbia Basin, which, besides Eastern Washington, includes a 
large part of Eastern Oregon, is the best ' poor man's country ' in the 
world. No man, if a worker, need go unemployed. Wages range from 
twenty dollars a month and board upward, depending on the kind of 
work and the quality of the worker." 



CALIFORNIA. 

BY CHAELES G. YALE. 



HISTORY. 

THERE are yet many persons whose impressions concerning California 
are as vague as they were years ago, when gold was first discovered 
within its borders and the whole world was astonished at the seemingly 
boundless wealth so suddenly uncovered in a region hitherto considered 
as worthless for the uses of all but those who were willing to live in a 
state of semi-civilization. To such people the associations of the " early 
days " are still connected with the name of the State. They think of 
California as a place where rough men in miner's garb live an out-door 
life of excitement and turmoil, without any of those refinements of civ- 
ilization which custom has made necessities ; where the revolver and 
bowie-knife are freely used to settle the most trivial differences of opinion ; 
where a large part of the people live in cabins in mining camps, and divide 
their time between digging in muddy gulches for gold and drinking and 
gambling in saloons for amusement ; where both necessities and luxuries 
are sold at exorbitant rates ; and where the people indulge in. a language 
interspersed with a miners' slang so choice and unique that long residence 
is necessary to acquire it. These are the people who acquired their know- 
ledge of California from the magazine and newspaper stories recounting 
the adventures of the early pioneer miners — stories which sound as 
strangely to the average Californian of to-day as they do to the man who 
has never trod the Pacific Slope. 

Others, again, associate the State with an idea of magnitude. They 
think it a place of big trees, big gold-mines, big nuggets, pumpkins, 
pears, grapes, potatoes ; large ranches, large grain crops, large fortunes ; 
high mountains, rates of interest, and wages. 

To others, still, California is a region made singular by the many mar- 
vellous facts in her history, by the rapid and wonderful development of 



CALIFORNIA. 355 

her resources ; by her sudden jump from dependence for supplies on older 
neighbors to a position where she is looked upon as a source to draw from, 
exporting wool, hides, lumber, gold, grain, wine, etc. etc. in great quan- 
tities ; by her rapid increase from a barren Territory to a rich and pow- 
erful State, whose products exert an influence in the money-markets of 
the world — a State with every variety of climate, from Arctic snows on 
mountain-heights to tropical verdure in the valley-lands, where not only 
grow the products common to the temperate zone, but many which until 
California agriculture was developed were not known within the borders 
of the United States. 

To convey a correct impression of a region so large as California, where 
there is such a variety of climate, resources, soil, scenery, and society, in 
general terms, is not an easy task. Details of interest to one would be 
tiresome to another. Even among the many thousands who have passed 
through the Golden Gate on their entrance to this promised land, and 
scattered over its length and breadth or settled themselves in the city on 
the shores of the Pacific, few are thoroughly familiar with the whole 
State or its resources. Let us pause on the threshold of this magnificent 
portal and contemplate for a moment the earlier history of a State which 
surprised the world by the marvellous rapidity with which it sprang 
from almost nameless obscurity into the zenith of a fame which reached 
the four corners of the earth ; from sterile unproductiveness to un- 
equalled fertility of resources ; from barren poverty to unexampled 
wealth. 

It was the famous Sir Francis Drake who, in trying to return to Eng- 
land through a supposed passage by an open sea north of the American 
continent, first blundered on to the California coast. He did not dis- 
cover it, but found it in his way. He had sailed from the west coast of 
South America and Mexico, where he had been on one of his legalized 
plundering expeditions, and went north until it got too cold. He then 
turned south, and finally brought up for a time on what is known as Sir 
Francis Drake's Bay, a semicircular bight behind Point Reyes, about 
thirteen miles from the Bay of San Francisco. Although he reported 
having found both gold and silver there, his story is an unlikely one, 
since neither is found to any extent on the coast, and he made no mention 
of having gone inland. At a few points on the ocean-beach of the coast 
gold-bearing sands are found, but silver is not found in placers, and there 
is not much of it in California anywhere. Drake's visit was in 1579, 
over three hundred years ago. Some sixteen years after Drake's voyage 
the Spaniards explored the coast, and also anchored in Drake's Bay ; and 



356 THE GREAT WEST. 

Sebastian Vizcaino, after landing south at San Diego and Monterey, came 
also to the same bay, but, though so near, did not find that of San Fran- 
cisco. 

Nothing came of these voyages for two hundred years, and until 1769 
California was left to the Indians and wild animals. In that year a small 
party of white men came in the brig San Antonio to make permanent 
settlement, and landed at San Diego, a town on the coast at the southern 
end of the State. This was the beginning of the Spanish dominion. 
The settlement was under control of the Franciscan friars, who came 
with the purpose of converting the Indians. It was a band from this 
party, under the leadership of Juan Crespi, that came far enough north 
a few years later and found San Francisco Bay. Junipero Serra, the 
head of the Franciscan order in California, founded a mission at San 
Francisco, as he did at all those points which were well adapted for such 
a purpose. 

The first of the missions was established at San Diego in 1769, and 
the last at Sonoma, north of San Francisco, in 1823. They were mainly 
placed on the coast or in pleasant valleys near it. The Fathers exercised 
excellent judgment in the location of their missions, and speedily made 
a change in the habits of the people in their vicinity. 

The Digger Indians, who were the aborigines of the country, were by 
no means adapted to be brought to a high civilization even by the ener- 
getic and enthusiastic endeavors of the Franciscans, who aimed at little 
above making converts. Their stone arrowheads, mortars, spears, and 
knives are still found in numerous shell-mounds near the coast, where they 
formerly had their rancherias. These Indians, peaceful in nature and 
slothful in habit, soon clustered around the missions. The friars taught 
them a rude sort of husbandry, converted them, and modified their savage 
customs. They were taught to build adobe houses, made of bricks fash- 
ioned from the peculiar tenacious soil and burned in the sun, tend flocks 
and herds, cultivate grain, and — what they probably did not want to 
know — that it was necessary to labor to be of use in the world. 

When Mexico declared her independence from Spain in 1822 the 
Mexican dominion began. This was an era of idleness, laziness, and 
freedom from the cares of life. The Mexicans obtained large grants of 
land by asking for them, and lived on the income derived from the hides 
and tallow of their cattle. The better class had pleasant homes, and the 
poorer clustered around them. The missions formed nuclei for the few 
towns. With plenty of horses to ride ; plenty of came con chile (beef and 
red peppers), frigoles (beans), and tortillas (cakes made from corn-flour) ; 



CALIFORNIA. 357 

abundance of leisure ; few excitements beyond an occasional bull- or 
cock-fight ; no taxes to pay ; no doctors or lawyers, unwelcome telegrams 
or letters, — these Californians led an easy, happy life. No wonder they 
looked with disfavor on the arrival of the gringos, who came in swarms, 
invaded their territory, brought the evils of civilization in the shape of 
a restless multitude eager to disturb existing conditions — a race destined, 
as they saw, to supplant the owners of the soil. 

The Americans began to come in noticeable numbers in 1846, and it 
was then, with the view of extending the American domain on the Pacific, 
that the steps were taken which finally brought California into the pos- 
session of the United States. 

It was the discovery of gold which awoke California from her lethar- 
gic sleep of centuries, which destroyed the last hope of the Mexicans of 
maintaining their habits and customs in the face of the change of owner- 
ship, and which filled the newly-acquired territory with an eager treasure- 
seeking multitude who were the pioneers and founders of the State. 

The history of this era has been told in song and story. The recital is 
stale. The incidents which transpired during the first few years of what 
are known as the " pioneer days " of California have furnished material 
for the historian, the poet, the novelist, the preacher, and all who put 
pen to paper. It was an area of boundless prosperity far beyond what 
was ever dreamed of by those who participated in its events. The ro- 
mance of the period has been dealt with by abler pens ; it is only with 
the material results we have to do. 

As soon as the gold discovery became known as a certainty on the 
Atlantic side of the continent, an unorganized army, with its ranks scat- 
tered on sea and land, came to take possession of the modern Ophir and 
despoil it of its treasures. In 1849 over forty thousand people made a 
weary march across the continent, and as many more braved the dangers 
of the deep, to reach the coveted goal. A voyage of six months' duration, 
or a tramp of even longer time, deterred them not. The perils of Cape 
Horn, the fevers of the Isthmus, and the scalping-knife of the Indian 
were ignored. The bright anticipations of a sure reward for toil, the 
dream of boundless wealth, the enthusiasm of conviction of success, 
lessened the hardships of these adventurous bands and buoyed them 
with a hope which surmounted all obstacles. 

These were the pioneers who laid the foundation of the California of 
to-day. To those of them still living — and there are many — the altered 
condition of affairs is not as satisfactoiy as one might suppose. They 
have been unable to adapt themselves to the changes necessarily brought 



358 THE GREAT WEST. 

about by the decadence of the gold-mines, the increase of population, the 
levelling of business aiFairs with those of more settled communities, the 
competition in trade, and the more sober and monotonous course of life 
consequent upon the new order of things. Money is no longer so plenty 
or so freely lavished as of old. Opportunities for making fortunes with- 
out labor are not frequent. Work is not paid for so well as it used to 
be. Individual effort must be exerted for a living, and pebple are more 
plenty than places in the cities. 

In fact, California, from being an isolated, independent State, has come 
to be one as dependent to a certain extent on its neighbors as the older 
States are. The transcontinental railroads have brought it down to the 
business level of older settled communities. San Francisco can no longer 
dictate terms to the whole coast. The merchants must sell as cheap as 
i,n other markets, or the purchasers go elsewhere. Formerly they had no 
choice. 

The bane of California has been a centripetal tendency to gravitate to 
the city. A great city has been built at the expense of smaller ones and 
of the country. There are few prosperous towns and villages in Cali- 
fornia. San Francisco has controlled the trade so long and so deter- 
minedly that her smaller rivals have been driven to the wall. All this 
is now, however, undergoing a change ; but the metropolis of the State 
feels this change sorely, and is restive under it. It will be better for 
her in the end when a settled population fills the valleys and hills, builds 
up small towns and villages, cultivates the soil, develops the material re- 
sources, and abandons thoughts of city life entirely. Then will San 
Francisco — and California — be prosperous again, and it will be a pros- 
perity more enduring than that which has tended to create a metropolis 
to the detriment of the surrounding region. 

Values have been too high in California for many years to encourage 
the class of population she needs. Farming lands have been* held at 
prices far beyond their real value when the expenses of cultivation, 
freight, and interest are compared with the resultant yields. This has 
been due to the high rates of interest for money — now modified, how- 
ever. When all these things reach their proper level, as they are now 
doing, prosperity will reign again. 

Another thing which has been ignored in California has been home 
manufactures. Very little money comparatively has been put into manu- 
facturing enterprises. Aside from a rolling-mill, half a dozen foundries, 
a woollen-mill or two, a few furniture-factories, etc., in San Francisco 
the home industries of this character are not many ; in the interior of 



CALIFORNIA. 359 

the State they are very scarce. A few paper-mills, powder-mills, tan- 
neries, etc. are here and there found, but no large manufacturing estab- 
lishments attract the attention of the stranger. Even where the raw 
material is produced in abundance it is shipped away, and the manu- 
factured product purchased back, the profit of the manufacture going to 
other States. The rich men, speaking generally, have been lenders of 
money, and have not paid that attention to the establishment of produc- 
tive home industries which would have added to the material interests of 
the State. To tell the truth, they have met with little encouragement 
where they did, as the people, with an inexcusable perversity, seem 
to consider it the correct thing to prefer the imported to the homemade 
article, whatever it may be, and the local manufactures languish. 

The excuse given for the non-establishment of these much-needed 
home industries is that labor is too high. No doubt it has been, as has 
everything else in California. It must now come down with rents, in- 
terest, and values; and it is a reluctance to do this, combined with that 
desire to live in the cities before mentioned, which, in connection with 
the Chinese question, has brought about the labor agitation in San Fran- 
cisco which has attracted so much attention from its communistic 
tendencies. 

IRRIGATION. 

The peculiarity of the climate of the State is in its wet and dry seasons, 
the summers being entirely rainless. Moreover, there is no dependence 
to be placed on the amount of rain in the winter months, more especially 
in the southern part of the State, where " dry years " are more frequent 
than pleasant. The rains fall from November to April more or less, but 
from May to November there are none. With sixty inches of rain on 
the mountains to the north, there may be only six inches in the southern 
part of the State. The rainless summers offer every facility for gathering 
the crops, since everything may be left out of cover if desired. No snow 
falls along the coast or in the great central valleys. In these valleys, 
although very hot at noon in summer, the mornings and nights are 
usually cool. The air is so dry, however, that with the thermometer 
frequently at 100° to 115° no cases of sunstroke occur. The heavy fogs 
brought in by the strong summer afternoon breezes from the Pacific Ocean 
are features of the coast climate, but not pleasant ones. The climate in 
different parts of the State varies so very greatly that choice of any may 
be taken at pleasure. 

Without attempting to enumerate those features of California agricul- 
ture in detail which would interest the farmer only, some of its conditions 



360 THE GREAT WEST. 

may be considered by the general reader worthy of note. Among these 
is the subject of irrigation, attention to which has been forced upon the 
farmers of certain parts of the State where the rainfall is small and un- 
certain ; and its importance is such that the State, and even the Federal, 
government has been called upon to report on the feasibility of general 
systems for the benefit of all. 

The introduction of irrigation into California as an aid to extensive 
agricultural operations is of very recent origin. The Jesuit Fathers, who 
established their missions in the southern portions of the State more than 
a century ago, made the first beginnings in this direction, but their opera- 
tions were limited in extent, and confined chiefly to the watering of vine- 
yards, gardens, and orchards in the immediate neighborhood of the mis- 
sions. Although the art has been continually in practice in the counties 
of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Santa Barbara to more 
or less extent ever since, but little progress was made until the occupation 
of the country by Americans, while farther north irrigation dates back 
scarcely twenty years, and it is only within the past decade that capital 
has become largely engaged in the construction of any important works 
for that purpose. It may be safely said that the area of irrigated lands 
in the State has doubled in ten years, and at this time a more gen- 
eral appreciation of its value and importance is entertained than ever 
before. 

Irrigation being, then, such a novelty, it is not to be wondered at that, 
however great its necessity, its progress has been slow. Farmers who had 
been accustomed to the methods of agriculture pursued in the Eastern 
and Southern States, where irrigation is scarcely known, naturally enter- 
tained a prejudice against a system of which they were totally ignorant, 
and avoided those sections of the State where the rainfall was not generally 
sufficient to produce crops without the artificial application of water. It 
has not only caused the achievement of much decided success in the use 
of water, but has led to the partial removal of the prejudice which still 
exists in the minds of many residing in those more favored localities 
where cereal crops at least seldom fail for lack of rain. 

Those who have acted as pioneers in the introduction of irrigation have 
labored under many discouragements, and have acquired their experience 
dearly. They have had to learn the best methods of preparing their land 
for the reception of water, the proper seasons for its application, and the 
quantity required to produce crops. Many mistakes were made, the most 
common one being that of using excessive quantities of water, resulting 
in injury both to land and crops — a fault which, it may be said, is still a 



CALIFORNIA. 361 

most difficult one to correct. Inattention to drainage too has in many 
instances resulted in engendering sickness, which, being attributed to irri- 
gation alone, has not increased the popularity of the new auxiliary to 
agriculture. 

One prominent defect in the system which has grown up in California 
is the lack of any sort of governmental supervision of the division and 
distribution of the water of the streams among the irrigators. A law was 
enacted in 1873 permitting any one to appropriate water on filing a claim 
in the records of the county wherein the appropriation was to be made ; 
but the terms in which the volume of such claims were to be expressed 
were exceedingly indefinite, and prior claims existing before the passage 
of this law were wholly undefined. This state of things has naturally 
led to much confusion, wrangling, and litigation over the possession of 
the waters of a stream in seasons of scarcity, and the State Legislature 
was appealed to for the readjustment of the whole matter of water-rights 
on a permanent basis, and to exercise its power in effecting an equitable 
distribution of the precious element. Many have thought it expedient 
for the State government to follow the example of the government of 
India — take possession of the waters of her streams and construct a com- 
prehensive system of canals for the irrigation of all the arid lands within 
her borders. But prior to taking any such radical measures the Legisla- 
ture of 1877-78 merely resolved to order a scientific investigation of the 
whole subject. The office of State Engineer was created ; his duties were 
to examine and report upon not only the problems of irrigation, but those 
of the drainage of the valleys, improvement of river-navigation, and the 
disposal of the detritus resulting from hydraulic mining, — all of which 
are questions of serious import to the welfare of the State. 

The first report of the State Engineer, giving the results of the first 
two years' investigation, has just been published, and it contains a large 
amount of valuable information which has long been needed. 

There are certain regions in California where, by reason of a deficiency 
in rainfall, irrigation is absolutely necessary to the production of any kind 
of crops. In other sections, where the winter precipitation is copious, 
artificial watering is only resorted to for the production of summer crops, 
meadows, gardens, and orchards during the season when all parts of the 
State are alike parched and devoid of moisture. In the one case, there- 
fore, irrigation is a matter of the most vital importance ; in the other, it 
is one of convenience, and is practised as supplementary to the other types 
of agriculture nourished by natural moisture. 

Although irrigation is practised to greater or less extent throughout 



362 THE GREAT WEST. 

California, from Siskiyou on the extreme north to San Diego on the 
southern border, and in many nooks and corners from the sea-coast to the 
eastern limits of the State, the locality where it has received the most 
attention, and where it is destined to become most extensively developed 
in the future, is in the great interior basin of the State. 

This great valley, having an extreme length of four hundred and fifty 
miles and an average width of nearly forty miles, forms a marked geo- 
graphical feature of the Pacific coast. It lies hemmed in between two 
ranges of mountains — the Coast Range and the Sierra Nevada — which 
join together at its northern and its southern limits. It consists of 
gently-sloping, nearly level plains, drained by two rivers — the Sacra- 
mento and the San Joaquin — which unite and seek a common outlet 
through San Francisco Bay to the sea. 

The total area is over ten million acres, a large proportion of which is 
arable land. The area of the mountains and foot-hills drained by its 
streams is nearly twenty-six million acres. The rainfall over this sec- 
tion of the State diminishes from north to south, until in the extreme 
southern portion of Kern county it rarely exceeds six inches per annum, 
and is sometimes less than two. From a point fifty to seventy-five miles 
south of Stockton to the southern extremity of the valley it may be said 
that three years out of five cereal crops cannot be produced without irri- 
gation, and of course summer crops are out of the question in all seasons 
unless artificially watered. 

It is in this section of the State, therefore, comprising the counties of 
Kern, Tulare, Fresno, and Merced, that irrigation-works have been most 
generally constructed and the practice of the art become most general as 
auxiliary to extensive agricultural operations. In some of the more 
southern counties outside of the boundaries of the above-described valley 
irrigation is also practised in isolated localities, and there are large tracts 
which will never be of much value until systems of irrigation are devised 
for them. 

The major portion of the lands to be irrigated in the San Joaquin 
Valley lie upon the eastern side of the median trough which intersects 
it longitudinally and forms its line of drainage, while its water-supply, 
upon which irrigation must depend, comes almost wholly from the Sierra 
Nevada Mountains on the east in a series of perennial and intermittent 
streams, which descend to the plains in parallel lines, and after crossing 
the valley turn northward and find an outlet in the San Joaquin River. 
The more important of these streams, named in their order from north 
to south, are the following : 



CALIFORNIA. 363 

Name of River. Mountain drainage- 

area, square miles. 

Kern 2382 

Tule 446 

Kaweah 608 

King's 1885 

San Joaquin Irj30 

Fresno 260 

Chowchilla 303 

Merced 1075 

Tuolumne 1513 

Stanislaus 971 

The discharge of these streams is extremely variable, but as most of 
them are snow-fed, rising in the ice-fields of the high sierra, they carry 
the greatest volumes during the months of March, April, May, June, 
and July, when the water is most needed for irrigation. Their flow is 
not proportional to the area which they drain, but is dependent more 
upon their geographical position, those farthest north having the great- 
est discharge per square mile of mountain-watershed, for the reason 
before stated, that the precipitation increases from south to north over all 
sections of the State. In extreme floods the larger streams maintain a 
discharge of thirty to forty thousand cubic feet per second for several 
weeks, while in low water in October the greatest of them do not exceed 
two hundred and seventy-five cubic feet per second in volume. The area 
of irrigable land adjacent to these streams is estimated by the State 
Engineer at two million four hundred and forty-five thousand acres, 
while a large percentage of the total area of the valley is not well 
adapted to irrigation and cannot be considered in any sense irrigable. 

That the field for further development of irrigation in this vast territory 
is a great one can best be seen by comparing the area under irrigation with 
that yet unwatered. The entire irrigated area of the east side of the 
San Joaquin Valley aggregates but one hundred and forty-five thousand 
acres — scarcely one per cent, of the area susceptible of irrigation — dis- 
tributed as follows : Kern Eiver, 30,800 acres ; Tule River, 4000 ; Ka- 
weah River, 22,000 ; King's River, 61,200 ; Fresno, 3000 ; San Joaquin, 
14,400; Merced, 1600 acres. On the west side of the valley about forty 
thousand acres, all told, are irrigated from the San Joaquin River. The 
irrigation-canals and ditches derived from these streams may be enume- 
rated as follows : Kern River, 32 ; aggregate length, 275 miles ; total 
cost of main works, $849,000. Tule River, 12 canals, all small. Ka- 
weah River, 14. King's River, 15;- total length, 230 miles; total cost, 
about $500,000. Fresno River, 1. San Joaquin River, 2 canals and 2 
natural sloughs used as artificial channels; total length, 110 miles; total 



364 THE GREAT WEST. 

cost, $1,350,000. These constitute the principal works, although a num- 
ber of others are in a state of partial completion. 

The works thus far constructed are generally of an excellent order, if 
the circumstances upon which they were undertaken are considered, but 
the European engineer, accustomed to the more elaborate and costly 
canals of France, Spain, and Italy, would doubtless be struck with the 
entire absence of stone masonry in all the structures connected with them. 
The timber head-gates, dams, regulating-sluices, outlet-gates, etc. have a 
temporary appearance which characterizes all works of irrigation in Cali- 
fornia, where economy in first cost must be rigidly studied. Some of the 
canals are models of engineering- work in many respects, as, for example, 
the Calloway Canal, which is derived from the Kern River and extends 
northward upon the plains a distance of thirty miles, having a maximum 
capacity of five to six hundred cubic feet per second. Its cost was less 
than two thousand seven hundred dollars per mile. It is expected to 
irrigate one hundred thousand acres, and is one of the largest canals in 
the State, there being but one other larger of those in use for irrigation 
— the San Joaquin and King's River Canal, deriving water from the 
San Joaquin River on the west side of the valley. This canal has a 
capacity of seven hundred and twenty cubic feet per second, and a length 
of sixty-seven miles, cost nearly twenty thousand dollars per mile, and 
has proved an unfortunate investment to its stockholders. 

A great deal of the land in the southern part of the State, though rich 
enough as far as soil is concerned, is practically valueless unless it can be 
irrigated. The lands in districts where irrigation systems are in vogue 
command comparatively high prices, and those where systems can be 
applied are also held at much higher prices than those where it is out of 
the question. There are a number of " irrigated colonies " in the southern 
counties, and in every one of them is a prosperous community. The irri- 
gated land does not only produce in every instance large crops, but several 
in a season if desired. Speaking generally, those sections where irrigation 
is practised are divided up into smaller ranches, and the work is more 
carefully conducted, than on the large unirrigated farms. 

In favorable seasons most abundant crops can be raised on any of this 
land without irrigation, but this cannot be counted on as a certainty with- 
out the artificial introduction of water. 

The lack of rain in the southern part of California and the uncertainty 
of crops have injured that portion of the State. The stories about the 
oranges, lemons, olives, vines, figs, etc., etc., and semi-tropical climate, 
have been very much exaggerated. There are certain portions of the 



CALIFORNIA. 365 

southern country which are most fruitful and in which all these things 
will thrive, but it is not by any means the case with all of it. The in- 
tending immigrant will do well to see the ground personally and examine 
the surroundings before bargaining to purchase. The tide of immigration 
to California no longer flows steadily to the southward : too many have 
gone there and failed. The lands which are subject to irrigation are held 
too high, and a great deal of the rest would be expensive as a gift. The 
habit of the people of those sections of country in lauding them to the 
skies, exaggerating their fruitfulness and value, has reacted, and within a 
year or two the southern country has had few accessions to its population. 
There are many tracts under a high state of cultivation, and irrigated, 
where the people are prosperous and thriving. The leading towns in 
Southern California and the most prosperous communities are those where 
systems of irrigation have been introduced. In fact, in most of those 
parts of the State irrigation is a necessity to ensure annual crops. Some 
of the " colonies "—like that of Riverside, for instance— have by irriga- 
tion outstripped in a few years' existence, in population and material 
prosperity, places which have been growing for years. 

A full consideration of the subject of irrigation in its various bearings 
would be superfluous here, even were the writer competent to undertake 
it ; and this much only has been said because it is a branch of agricultural 
pursuits little considered in other parts of the United States and peculiar 
to California. 

In some places, where there are no streams to furnish water for irriga- 
tion, artesian wells have been bored, and where they overflow the water 
is thus readily obtainable. When the water only rises to near the surface 
windmills are used to raise it. There are three or four hundred of these 
wells in Los Angeles county, several hundred in Santa Clara county, and 
many in Fresno, Monterey, San Bernardino, Tulare, and Kern counties. 
The utility of these bored wells is now universally recognized, and they 
are every year becoming more numerous. 

In peculiar contrast to the dry lands needing Mater to be rendered 
available for purposes of agriculture are the tule-lands of California, 
from which the water must be removed before they can be utilized. This 
branch of agriculture, too, is to a certain extent peculiar to California, 
and some little detail concerning it will be found of interest. 

TULE-LANDS. 

In the year 1871 a company of Kentucky farmers raised a crop of 
wheat on one of the tule-islands in the San Joaquin River in Cali- 



366 THE GREAT WEST. 

fornia. The crop was taken from one thousand acres, and the value 
of it was over fifty thousand dollars. The price paid for the land, with 
a levee built around it, was twenty dollars per acre. The grain was 
planted without plough or harrow. The seed was sown upon the ashes 
of the burnt sod and vegetation, and tramped in by sheep driven in a 
band over the land. The wonderful success of this crop and the easy 
and novel method of cultivation at once brought these lands into noto- 
riety, not only in California, but also in the Eastern States, particularly 
in Kentucky, and large schemes of reclamation were projected and begun, 
the issue of which forms a chapter of California history still unfinished. 

The tule-lands are swamp- or marsh-lands, and derive their name from 
a tall round rush that abounds on them called tule (pronounced too-ly) by 
the Indians. The tule is a fresh-water plant, and the term belongs 
properly only to the fresh-water swamp-lands, but is also sometimes ap- 
plied to the salt marsh-lands by those not familiar with the subject. 

There are two classes of swamp-lands upon which the tule grows — viz. 
fresh-water swamp- and fresh-water tide-lands. These, with the salt 
marsh-lands, comprise the three varieties of land designated by the laws 
of the State as "swamp and overflowed lands." All lands of this cha- 
racter were granted to the. several States by act of Congress of 1850, 
known as the " Arkansas Act." The title is therefore vested in the State, 
and each State may dispose of the land under its own laws. The State 
of California has heretofore issued a patent in fee for all lands of this 
class upon payment of one dollar per acre in full, or upon full reclama- 
tion of the land, or upon expenditure of two dollars per acre in reclaim- 
ing any district. 

Reclamation districts are set apart by the boards of supervisors of the 
county in which the land lies, upon the petition of the owners of more 
than one-half of any tract of swamp and overflowed land capable of this 
mode of reclamation. When the ground has been reclaimed or the two 
dollars expended in reclamation, all moneys paid to the State in purchase 
of the land are refunded to the land-owner, the policy of the State being 
to give the land to any person reclaiming it. The law of 1868 permitted 
the purchase of this character of land in any quantity, and in consequence 
all of it, excepting in isolated and unknown tracts, was taken up by specu- 
lators, and since then the minimum price for swamp-lands unreclaimed 
has been five dollars per acre. The late act of the Legislature, fixing 
six hundred and forty acres of land as the largest amount which a pur- 
chaser could buy of the State, came too late to reserve these lands for 
small holding's. 



CALIFORNIA. 367 

The unlimited-purchase act was undoubtedly dictated by true wisdom, 
as only large capital and concentrated management can effectually handle 
the lands. There are in California, according to the last report of the 
Surveyor-General, 1,825,000 acres of swamp and overflowed land, in- 
cluding the salt marsh-lands. All is susceptible of reclamation, and 
every acre is suitable to some crop or product capable of sustaining life. 
The fresh-water swamp-lands comprise the largest proportion of these. 
They lie on the margins of the rivers and lakes above the influence of 
the tides, and are subject to sudden inundation by floods caused by winter 
rains. They receive the first and heaviest deposit of sediment borne 
down by the floods, and the soil is composed of various amounts and 
strata of clay, sand, and loam, and is exceedingly rich. The almost ex- 
clusive growth is the tule, which when young and tender furnishes excel- 
lent grazing for live-stock, and the lands are constantly resorted to for 
pasture by the owners of the contiguous upland in the fall, when the dry 
weather has destroyed the vegetation of the higher lands and evaporated 
the water that had till then lain on the marsh. 

The great bodies of this class of tule-land are found on the borders of 
Tulare Lake and the adjacent lakes in Kern and Tulare counties, and 
along the Sacramento River and its branches in Yuba, Sutter, Colusa, 
and Yolo counties. A considerable quantity lies also along the San 
Joaquin River and its tributaries, and the tule-land in the mountain- 
counties adds somewhat to the gross acreage. 

This class gradually merges below Sacramento City on the north and 
Stockton on the east into the fresh-water tide-lands. There are about 
four hundred thousand acres of these lands lying in the delta of the San 
Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers, where the fresh water of the rivers is 
checked in its flow and rises and falls with the oscillations of the salt 
water from the Bay of San Francisco and ocean below, acting as a tidal 
dam. The soil is largely peat, derived from the luxurious growth of 
tules, lilies, grass, and ferns, which spring up, flourish, fall, and decay, 
and make a bed for the future plants of the same kind. There are large 
tracts of this vegetable mould thirty, and even forty, feet deep, inter- 
layered with occasional strata of sedimentary deposit. The tides rise and 
fall from four to six feet, and high tide usually covers the surface, thus 
rendering the land ordinarily useless even for pasturage, for which the 
clover (a red species) and other plants abounding on it are well adapted. 
In very dry years the tidal overflow has been so much as to permit graz- 
ing, and these lands have proved a refuge to cattle of the dried-up plains 
on more than one occasion. 



368 THE GREAT WEST. 

As the two classes of land described merge into one another, so like- 
wise, from the nature of the case, the fresh-water tide-lands gradually 
become more and more salty until the salt marsh-lands are reached. The 
marsh-lands of Suisun Bay are mostly brackish, but true salt marsh- 
lands are confined to San Pablo and San Francisco Bays. The latter 
aggregate about one hundred thousand acres, and the brackish lands of 
Suisun Bay amount to about sixty-five thousand acres more. Peat ap- 
pears largely as a constituent of the salt marsh-lands also, but in smaller 
proportions, as the natural growth from which it is derived is scanty com- 
pared with the rankness of the tule vegetation. The principal grasses 
are a salt-grass, a hollow, short-jointed plant, and a wire-grass, so called 
from its wire-like stalk. Both are short, not growing over two feet high, 
and are of small value for pasturage. Cattle appear to like them as a 
change from the dry feeding of neighboring uplands or for their salt, 
and in case of necessity live-stock may subsist upon them for a while if 
they have not become too old and tough. 

The sedimentary deposits in salt-marshes are much larger than in the 
tule-lands, so that they are more solid and have a higher elevation — gen- 
erally about one foot above high tide. 

The reclamation of swamp-lands was at first thought to be an easy 
matter, and it was only after repeated failure and heavy loss that the 
difficulties began to be appreciated. Formerly, any farmer considered 
himself capable of reclaiming any district of swamp-land ; now the sub- 
ject receives the deepest consideration of boards of engineers and the 
Legislature of the State. The operations of the hydraulic miner ; every 
cubic yard of tailings emptied into the remotest stream that joins the 
waters flowing to the bay ; every furrow turned on either watershed of 
the two great valleys of the State ; every tree planted or cut down ; each 
season's snow or rainfall, and the more immediate questions of depth and 
width and carrying capacity of the stream to be leveed against ; the cha- 
racter of the foundations and embankment and the cost of construction, — 
all these and more are factors in the problem. 

But as the extent of the undertaking is developed the increasing value 
and importance of these lands renders them capable of supporting the 
investigation and removal of each and every obstacle as it presents it- 
self. 

The salt marsh-lands, having the best material for levees and subject only 
to overflow of the tides, can be reclaimed with the least difficulty and 
expense. But, as the soil is saline and cannot be immediately cultivated, 
fewer attempts at reclamation have been made than on the tule-lands. 




SCENES IN THE YOSEMITE VALLEY. 
1.— Bridal Veil Fall. 2.— Mirror Lake. 






CALIFORNIA. 369 

Of the latter the greatest amount of work and capital has been expended 
on the fresh-water tide-lands ; but large sums have also been spent upon 
the fresh-water swamp-lands, especially on those magnificent tracts of the 
finest alluvial soil in the world extending along both sides of the Sacra- 
mento River northward from Sacramento City. 

These rich, loamy lands, spreading in broad acres of level, unbroken 
surface, affording before reclamation much pasture for sheep and cattle in 
the latter months of summer as the water disappears, and, when culti- 
vated, yielding readily to the plough, and from the start producing large 
crops of grain, are attractive enough to encourage the outlay of their full 
value to rescue them from the domain of the floods. Lands of this class 
can be generally reclaimed in bodies of thousands, and even of hundreds 
of thousands, of acres ; and, though the floods be severe and embank- 
ments large, yet the cost per acre for reclamation is reduced by the vast 
size of the district included. 

It was originally supposed that of all the swamp-lands the fresh-water 
tide-lands could be the most cheaply and easily reclaimed. The tides 
barely rose above the level of the land, and a small embankment would 
apparently keep them out. A flood might come occasionally and spread 
over all, but it would quickly drain oif, so that the damage might not be 
great and the benefit might not be inconsiderable. Proceeding on such 
views, the owners of an island of ten thousand acres actually undertook to 
reclaim it with a single furrow of a twenty-four-inch plough drawn by 
oxen. For some time a levee of twelve feet base and four feet high was 
deemed most ample by those holding the most advanced ideas. Peat, 
abounding so largely in the soil, proved to be unreliable in the levee and 
treacherous in the foundation. It dried and floated from the levee, and 
split in subterranean cracks beneath it ; and the swamp-land engineer dis- 
covered that he must provide an embankment that would not only keep 
out the water above the surface, but would also have weight sufficient to' 
compact thirty feet of slushy subsoil. 

Fortunately for the temporary advantage of the reclamation schemes, the 
banks of all the streams had a stratum of a foot or more of sedimentary 
loam, which, laid upon the peat, gave solidity to the levee. The scarcity 
of earthy matter above the water in many parts of the tule-land is calling 
into use more and more each year dredging-machines of various kinds.. 
The dipper dredge, the clam-shell, and the sand-pump are all at the pres- 
ent writing at work there. Excellent material in abundance is found in 
all the watercourses, and the dredges can raise it economically. But no 
satisfactory method has yet been introduced of transferring the earth at a 



370 THE GREAT WEST. 

reasonable cost to the levees across soft mud-flats and over irregular dis- 
tances from the dredge-pits. 

The main reliance for levee-building on all the swamp-lands has been 
upon the Chinaman. His tools are the shovel and wheelbarrow on the 
loamy soils of the upper tule-lands, and on the tide-lands he employs, in 
addition to these, an iron spade or knife, called a "tule-knife," and a fork, 
with which to cut and handle the peaty sods. The Chinamen live in 
tents and work in gangs of ten to twenty-five men each. Every man has 
his part, from cook to boss, and accounts are duly kept by them of all 
receipts and expenditures. 

The Chinese labor averages about ten cents per cubic yard, commonly 
measured in the excavation, in all classes of swamp-land, but varies ac- 
cording to the nature of the work and distance of moving the earth. 
Scraper-work is slightly, and dredge-work considerably, higher in price, 
but the respective results obtained are proportionately superior in effect- 
iveness. 

The cost of reclamation per acre varies as much as the number of dis- 
tricts. The uniformity of the conditions on the salt-marsh precludes much 
difference there. Ten dollars per acre may be set as a maximum figure, 
while the best reclaimed tract — one of thirteen hundred acres — cost less 
than five dollars per acre under very able and experienced management. 

A wide range occurs upon the tule-lands. A large island of about 
sixty thousand acres, which was well leveed -at the outset with a large 
embankment that withstood the high waters of February, 1878, when 
almost every other district was inundated, cost ten dollars per acre for its 
reclamation. There are tracts which, having suffered from disastrous 
overflows, show an expenditure on their embankments of several multi- 
ples of ten dollars per acre. 

An absolute reclamation has not yet been reached on any of the tule- 
lands. There is grave doubt whether any levee as now built is proof 
against such a flood as occurred in 1862; and as long as the tailings of 
the hydraulic mines continue to fill up the channels of the rivers, the 
flood-mark will yearly rise higher until each stream will burst its banks 
and change its course entirely. The interests involved are, however, too 
vast to allow such a catastrophe, and at this present moment the best en- 
gineering talent in the State, under direction of the Legislature, is engaged 
in maturing plans of reclamation and drainage. 

Swamp-lands duly reclaimed have been always held in high estimation 
by agricultural people. To a State like California, subject to recurring 
seasons of drought, and with a limited rainy season at all times, the re- 



CALIFORNIA. 371 

sources of her swamp-lands, as in this case so eligibly located as well as 
productive, are susceptible of a development not possible under the ordi- 
nary climates of the temperate zone. 

Thus far, the cultivation of these lands in California has suffered through 
inexperience of the farmer and imperfection of reclamation, and, in con- 
sequence, the results are fragmentary. The fresh-water tide-lands have 
undoubtedly a great advantage over the other classes in the fact that 
daily and cheap irrigation can be had. By this means two, and even 
three, crops may be raised, and hay cut three or four times each season. 
The same tide by its flow and ebb permits the land to be flooded and 
thoroughly drained, fulfilling without cost the two most important con- 
ditions of the growth of plants. For that reason the range — and espe- 
cially the certainty — of crops will continue to be far greater upon the 
fresh-water swamp-lands until irrigating-ditches supplement the levees 
of those richer lands. The latter, when the water is embanked from 
them, are reduced to the circumstances of the adjoining plains, excelling 
them, indeed, in fertility of soil, but liable to the same contingencies of 
rainfall. But the fertility of either is beyond any question. 

The productiveness of the salt marsh-lands has been almost as satis- 
factorily demonstrated. The sedimentary deposits are the same as on 
the tule-lands, and the organic mould is similar ; hence, to get a like fer- 
tility it is necessary only to eradicate the salty substances. This is done 
the more quickly in proportion to the quantity of fresh water put upon 
the soil, either by the rainfall, by flooding from the frequent creeks that 
empty into the bay, or from artesian wells in which flowing water has 
been obtained at a depth of from one hundred and fifty to two hundred 
and thirty feet. The land may be ploughed after the first rains following 
reclamation, and a crop of barley or wheat for grain or hay raised the 
second season. Thereafter, as the soil sweetens, the whole catalogue of 
farm produce is open to the profitable selection of the farmer. 

There are connected with all classes of swamp-lands, as might be ex- 
pected, difficulties in cultivation peculiar to each. The salt marshes have 
permeating them many sloughs or small deep creeks, whose smaller 
branches extend in every direction, and the soil in drying after the water 
is shut off shrinks and cracks to a depth often of several feet. The first 
cost of breaking the land is considerably increased in filling the small 
sloughs and fissures for the plough. 

The soil of the fresh-water tide-lands, being peaty and light, is also 
boggy ; and until it is well compacted by a season or two of cultivation 
without overflow, that they may not mire the horses have their hind feet 



372 THE GREAT WEST. 

shod with tule-shoes, which are the common horseshoes having an en- 
circling ring attached to broaden the tread. 

The sod on all these lands is very tenacious and hard to pulverize. In 
many instances it is little less tender than a mat of hair, and there is a 
kind called " buckskin." Happily, the worst kinds can be subdued by 
fire. When it was discovered that the turf would burn on the tule tide- 
lands, large areas were burned over, and in the ashes were raised those 
large crops planted with sheep, already mentioned, that brought these 
lands into such prominent notice. Fires set on the ground could not be 
controlled, but burned to such a depth — not uncommonly two, three, or 
four feet — that the land was permanently injured, so that now many who 
still resort to burning first plough the turf and set fire to the furrows 
only. But the plough and harrow are generally preferred for reducing 
the sod, because, though slower in the process, they do the least injury 
and accomplish the best ultimate result. 

After two or three years' thorough cultivation the soil of either marsh- 
or tule-land becomes as light, friable, and easily worked as any garden 
mould, and yields both pleasure and large returns to the farmer. 

The list of the products that have already been raised upon the tule- 
lands is a large one. Mr. L. C. McAfFee of San Francisco, a gentleman 
of large experience in these lands, enumerates wheat, barley, oats, Indian 
corn, buckwheat, broom corn, timothy, alfalfa, and other clovers and 
grasses, potatoes, onions, squashes, beans, sugar-beets, flax, grapes, peaches, 
apricots, pears, apples, figs, melons, all the small fruits, especially black- 
berries and strawberries; in fact, hardly any product of the American 
farm is absent. The borders of most of the streams are govered with a 
heavy growth of alder, willow, and sycamore, and oaks are found on 
higher banks. After reclamation willows and alders spring up spontan- 
eously everywhere, and become a nuisance unless kept under. The poplar, 
locust, eucalyptus, and other trees suitable for firewood, fencing, and other 
useful purposes have been successfully introduced. 

Of the several representative crops to which the most attention has 
been given, wheat has returned twenty-nine and thirty bushels per acre 
as the average of large fields in different localities, and measurements of 
specially good but limited areas have shown seventy-seven and one-third, 
fifty-eight and one-half, and forty-five bushels per acre. Wheat has been 
peculiarly liable to rust on the spongy tule-lands w T here out of reach of 
the summer trade-winds, though it is still a question among tule-farmers 
whether proper cultivation and early sowing will not obviate the trouble. 
Barley has always been a safe and extensive crop. The range of authentic 



CALIFORNIA. 373 

averages runs from twenty-five to forty-five bushels per acre, but excep- 
tional yields of one hundred and five bushels per acre are reported. 
Timothy has produced four and a half tons per acre, and alfalfa six to 
eight tons. Potatoes have yielded so largely that for two or three sea- 
sons past the farmer, on account of the excessive supply, has been brought 
into debt by his crop. Five hundred bushels per acre from one crop 
have been gathered, and two hundred bushels from the early and late 
crops is considered an unfailing average. 

Other crops have made similar returns, and it has been quite universally 
the case that when the tule-farmers have generally raised vegetables or 
any article of local consumption the market is certainly overstocked. 
When it is remembered that the rule tide-lands not only produce, in com- 
mon with all the swamp-lands, the large crops mentioned, but may also 
produce two of them, as grain and alfalfa, or grain and beans or potatoes, 
or other variations, the same season, and with no deterioration of soil that 
may not be remedied by judicious flooding when the streams are laden 
with fertile sediment, the great value of these lands will be apparent, and 
the persistence of the owners in works of reclamation in the face of re- 
peated disaster will be understood. 

A large production does not alone determine the value of the land. 
Accessibility to a market is quite as essential ; and this the tide-lands, 
both salt and fresh, all lying within one hundred miles of San Francisco, 
possess in an eminent degree. They are interlaced with rivers and 
sloughs, so that there need not be a farm without water-frontage. The 
streams are deep and navigable for vessels of any size required for the 
business. Both sail and steam are employed, and neither the winds of 
heaven nor the open rivers of the State can be monopolized ; they are 
free to all, and freights and passage will always be cheap for the residents 
of tide-lands. One dollar per ton for freight, and the same for passage, 
to San Francisco, are the charges below Stockton and Sacramento. Above 
these points, as the depth of water in the rivers decreases, the charges are 
higher. The Sacramento River is navigable to Chico Landing, three 
hundred miles north from San Francisco, giving water-transportation for 
the entire year throughout the whole length of the swamp-lands, and 
competing with the two railroads for the traffic of the Sacramento Valley. 
In the San Joaquin Valley steamers can reach Miller's Landing, three 
hundred and fifty miles from San Francisco, for a few weeks only during 
high water" in the spring, or for two or three months at most in very wet 
seasons, so that the swamp-lands on the upper San Joaquin, south of 
Stockton, must depend mainly on railroads for transportation. The 



374 THE GREAT WEST. 

maximum freight on either river in no case exceeds four dollars per ton 
from the places named to Sacramento. The Southern Pacific Railroad 
charges six dollars per ton for grain from the neighborhood of Tulare 
and Kern Lakes, which have no navigable outlet. The price of wheat 
in San Francisco is usually the same as the price at London, less ocean- 
freight, which varies from ten to twenty dollars per ton. 

Neither the tule- nor salt marsh-lands are yet considered desirable for 
residence. The danger of overflow, the presence of mosquitos, and the 
possibility of fever and ague — which is largely counteracted by the trade- 
winds on and near the bays — do not encourage the building of homes. 
But such things are always incident to a new country, and, as the people 
add to their wealth, they pay stricter attention to the laws of health and 
increase in every way their comfort and the beauty of their surroundings. 

The climate of the swamp-lands shares the changes of the country 
about them. The temperature ranges slightly lower on account of the 
large water-surface exposed to evaporation, by which cooler breezes are 
created in summer and heavier frosts in winter. The thermometer in 
the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys fluctuates more widely 
and stands at a higher mean than at the Golden Gate. It rarely falls 
below the freezing-point, but in the valleys it frequently rises above 100° 
Fahrenheit. The delightful annual mean temperature of the valleys is 
about 63° Fahrenheit, and at San Francisco the still cooler 56° 
Fahrenheit. 



CEREAL AND OTHER CROPS OF CALIFORNIA. 

BY E. W. HILGAED. 



OF all the field-crops grown in California, wheat is the most important 
at this time. It was the first culture on a large scale introduced on 
the subsidence of the gold fever, and the returns received proved to be so 
much greater and more certain than those from the placer-mines that it 
extended rapidly, and has ever since remained the largest and most gen- 
erally appreciated product of California agriculture. The amount pro- 
duced in 1878 (an average year) was 22,000,000 centals — of which 
8,069,825 were exported as grain — and about 500,000 barrels of flour. 
In the markets of the world the wheats of the Pacific coast are noted for 



CALIFORNIA. 375 

their high quality — the plumpness and light color of the " berry " and 
the high percentage of first-class flour it furnishes in milling. At home 
the extraordinarily high product per acre of forty to sixty bushels, and 
even more — under very imperfect tillage — for a number of consecutive 
years, forms a strong incentive to this culture. Nor is the California 
wheat-grower obliged to be very careful in his choice of seed. Prob- 
ably every known variety of wheat has in the course of time been 
brought and tried here, but all in a short time seem to assume very 
nearly the same peculiar California type, upon which, in fact, it would 
seem hard to improve materially. It is almost ludicrous, at times, to 
compare the Eastern seed with its California offspring which has under- 
gone the " swelling process " of one season's growth in her generous soil 
and climate. It is but fair to say that substantially the same peculiar- 
ities are observable in the wheats of Oregon, grown in the valley of the 
Willamette and on the plains of the upper Columbia. Since the grow- 
ing season in the greater part of California extends, with little interrup- 
tion from cold, from the beginning of November to June, the distinction 
between winter and spring grain is also in a great measure lost. The 
farmer ploughs and sows as early as practicable, watching his chances 
between rains — in November and December if he can, in March if he 
must, or at any convenient time between — increasing the amount of seed 
sown per acre in proportion as there remains less time for the grain to 
tiller. Should the ears fail to fill, he can still make hay. 

Much discussion has been had concerning the merits of early as com- 
pared with late sowing. The objections against the former practice are 
that copious early rains may start the growth too rapidly, the chances 
being that in that case but little more water will fall until Christmas. 
It is true the weather-wise may sometimes gain materially by delay in 
sowing, but the general result of experience seems to be that it is better 
in the long run to take the risk of having to sow twice, rather than that 
of being kept from sowing at all until too late by persistent rains. It 
has therefore become a very common practice to " dry-sow " grain in sum- 
mer-fallowed land in September and October. The seed lies quiescent 
in the parched and dusty ground until called forth by the rains, and in 
clean fields and ordinary seasons such grain generally yields the highest 
returns. The preparation of the ground for the crop on the large wheat- 
farms is usually made by means of gang-ploughs with from two to six 
shares, drawn by from three to five horses or mules, three animals very 
commonly walking abreast. At the critical season it is not uncommon 
to see half a dozen such implements and teams at work in a single field, 



376 THE GREAT WEST. 

closely followed by a wagon carrying seed-grain and the centrifugal 
sower, which showers the grain upon the fresh-turned furrows in strips 
thirty or more feet wide. Before the day ends the great (usually flexible) 
harrows have also performed their work, and thirty or forty acres of what 
was a stubble-field in the morning have been converted into a well-seeded 
grain-field. Of late, appliances for seeding and covering have been at- 
tached to the gang-ploughs themselves, so that the whole task is per- 
formed in one operation — certainly the perfection of labor-saving ma- 
chinery. Seed-drills are as yet in but limited use, although nowhere, 
probably, would drilling be more desirable in order to admit of subse- 
quent culture, for want of which crops often totally fail on the heavier 
soils. During the rainy season the covering is often done by rolling 
alone, and on harrowed ground the roller is frequently used later in the 
season, in order to compact the surface so as to mitigate the drying effects 
of "northers." 

In the grain-harvest (which begins in the second week of June) the 
"wholesale" mode of procedure is equally prevalent. The scythe is 
used only to cut the way, and that on small farms ; then follows the 
reaper, hired if not owned by the farmer himself. But the binding and 
shocking process that is to succeed is far too slow for the large grain- 
grower, who has his hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of acres to reap 
within the short time allowed by the exceedingly rapid maturing, which 
threatens him with serious loss by shedding, the air being at that season 
very dry even at night. His implement is the giant header, pushed into 
the golden fields by from four to eight horses. Its vibrating cutters clip 
off the heads, with only a few inches of straw attached, on a swath six- 
teen, and even twenty-eight, feet wide, while a revolving apron carries 
the laden ears to a wagon driven alongside, and having a curious wide- 
slanting bed for their reception. Several of these wagons drive back and 
forth between the swaths and the steam-thresher, where within half an 
hour the grain that was waving in the morning breeze may be sacked 
ready for shipment to Liverpool. Even this energetic mode of proce- 
dure, however, has appeared too slow to some of the progressive men in 
business, and we have seen a wondrous and fearful combination of header, 
thresher, and sacking-wagon moving in procession side by side through 
the doomed grain. If this stupendous combination and last refinement 
shall prove practically successful, we shall doubtless next see the flour- 
ing-mill itself form a part of this agricultural pageant. Where farming 
is not done on quite so energetic a plan the reaped and bound grain, 
being at that season perfectly safe from rain, is left either in shocks or 




l.-Gri ZZ ]y Giant, Mariposa Grove. 2.-Three Graces, Calaveras Group 3,-Scenes in Mariposa Grove 
4,-Trunk of Big Tree, Mariposa Grove. 5.-Natural Arch, Big Tree, Mariposa Grove. 6.-Calaveras Group, Big Trees. 



CALIFORNIA. 377 

stacks until the threshing-party comes around, mostly with a portable 
engine, often fed with straw alone, to drive the huge " separator," whose 
combined din and puffing will sometimes startle late sleepers as it sud- 
denly starts up in the morning from the most unexpected places. Two 
wagons, usually aided by some " bucks " (a kind of sledge-rake, which 
also serves to remove the straw from the mouth of the thresher), feed the 
devouring monster. In an incredibly short time the shocks or stacks are 
cleared away, and in their stead appear square piles of turgid grain-sacks 
and broad low hillocks of straw. Both products often remain thus for 
six or eight weeks, the grain getting so thoroughly dry in the interval 
that there is frequently an overweight of five or more per cent, when, 
after its long passage in the damp sea-air, the cargo reaches Liverpool. 
The moral question thus arising as to who is entitled to the benefit of 
this increase I will not pretend to determine, but the producers say that 
they rarely hear of any differences in their favor. 

The manner of disposing of the straw is one of the weakest points of 
California agriculture. Near to cities or cheap transportation much of it 
is baled like hay and finds a ready market, but in remote districts it is 
got rid of by'applying the torch ; and these "straw-fires" habitually red- 
den the autumn skies as do the prairie-fires in the Western States r cover- 
ing the whole country with a smoke-haze as a faint reminiscence of the 
Indian summer, which is not otherwise well defined on the Pacific coast. 
This holocaust of valuable materials, which might be made the means of 
some slight return of plant-food to the soil, is a standing reproach to 
those who practise it ; yet they have some excuse in the fact that the 
peculiarities of the climate do not make it as easy to convert it into ma- 
nure as is the case in countries having summer rains. For in winter the 
temperature is, after all, too low to favor rapid decay, while during the 
summer months the intense drought soon puts an end to fermentation. 
It therefore takes two seasons to render the straw fit for ploughing in ; 
and in the mean time, as left by the thresher, it occupies considerable 
ground. As yet, the conviction that straw-burning is penny-wisdom and 
pound-foolishness has not gained sufficient foothold to induce the majority 
of wheat-growers to take the pains of putting the straw into stacks with 
concave tops to collect and retain the water. But those who have done 
so report that the resulting improvement of the soil pays well for the 
trouble. The practice of burning will, of course, disappear so soon as 
the system of large-scale planting gives way, as it soon must, to that of 
mixed farming on a smaller scale. 

Of the other cereals, barley and oats are the only ones that can as yet 



HI 



378 THE GREAT WEST. 

lay claim to general importance ; and the methods of culture are much the 
same. Like the wheats, so the barleys of California are of exceptionally 
fine quality, that of the "Chevalier" variety being so eagerly sought for 
by Eastern brewers that but little of it finds its way into California- 
brewed beer. The common (six- and four-rowed) barleys are, however, 
themselves of such high quality that the absence of the highest-grade 
grain is certainly not perceptible in the quality of the beer, into which, 
unlike most of its Eastern brethren of St. Louis and Chicago, nothing but 
barley and hops finds its way. The various kinds of oats are produced 
for home consumption only, the difficulty being very commonly that the 
straw becomes so strong as to interfere seriously with its use for forage. 
Eye is grown to some extent in the mountain-counties, and yields a 
splendid grain, called for chiefly by the taste of the German population 
for rye bread. Some Polish wheat (Tritlcum polonicom) is grown under 
the name of " white rye." Maize is thus far grown but to a small ex- 
tent compared with wheat, barley, and oats — not, however, because of any 
difficulty in producing corn, which as to quality, size, and yield per acre 
can compete with any in the Mississippi Valley. 

HORTICULTURAL, PRODUCTS. 

Nothing probably strikes the newcomer in California more forcibly, 
and nothing certainly more agreeably, than the advantages offered by a 
climate where plants can ordinarily be kept growing from ten to twelve 
months in the year, provided water is supplied. The immigrant desiring 
to make a home for himself is delighted to find that the rapid growth of 
shrubbery and flowers — and among them many that he has so far seen 
only nurtured in greenhouses — will enable him to create around him in 
the course of three seasons, on a bare lot, a home atmosphere that else- 
where it would have required ten or more years to establish. The house- 
wife, however industriously disposed, is not ill pleased to find herself 
relieved from the annual pressure of the " preserving season " by the cir- 
cumstance that fresh fruits are in the market at reasonable rates during 
all but a few weeks in the year, so that a few gallons of jellies is all that 
is really called for in the way of " putting up." It is not less pleasing 
to her, as well as to the rest of the family, that a good supply of fresh 
vegetables is at her command at all seasons, and that the Christmas din- 
ner, if the turkey does cost thirty cents a pound, may be graced with crisp 
lettuce, radishes, and green peas just as readily as it may be celebrated by 
an open-air picnic on the green grass under blooming bushes of the scarlet 
gooseberry. Of course there are seasons of preference for each vegetable, 



CALIFORNIA. 379 

and among the great variety naturally introduced by the various nation- 
alities there are few that cannot be found in the San Francisco market at 
almost any time in the year — if not from local culture, then from some 
point between Los Angeles and the mouth of the Columbia. The truck- 
gardens are largely in the hands of the Italians and Portuguese, who have 
brought with them from their homes habits of thrift; and their manure- 
piles, windmills for irrigation, and laborious care of their unceasing round 
of crops on a small area render their establishments easy of recognition. 
Their products are distributed partly by themselves, partly by the ubiqui- 
tous Chinese huckster, trotting with his two huge baskets under a weight 
that few Caucasians would carry for any length of time. Not a few 
Chinese also are engaged in the truck-farming business. The vegetables 
are in general of excellent quality, and it may be truly said that in no 
city of the United States is the general quality of fare so good, so well 
adapted to every variety of taste, and (last but not least) so cheap, as in 
the City of the Golden Gate, and nowhere is the decoration of even the 
humblest homes with flowers and shrubbery more universal and at the 
same time so generously aided by Nature. 

In no department of industry, probably, is the reputation of California 
better established than in regard to fruit-culture. Its pears seem to have 
been the pioneers in gaining the award of special excellence ; grapes and 
cherries have rapidly taken a place alongside; and, last, oranges and lemons 
have come to dispute the palm with Sicily and the Antilles. The most 
striking peculiarity of California fruit-culture is its astonishing versatility, 
not to say cosmopolitanism ; for the variety of fruits capable of successful 
culture within the limits under consideration in this article probably ex- 
ceeds, even at this time, that found elsewhere in any country of similar 
extent, and is constantly on the increase by the introduction of new kinds 
from all quarters of the globe. Doubtless, in time each district will settle 
down to the more or less exclusive production of certain kinds found to 
be most profitable under its particular circumstances, so far as the large- 
scale cultures are concerned ; but whosoever raises fruit mainly for home 
consumption will hardly resist the temptation offered by the possibility 
of growing side by side the fruits of the tropics and those of the north 
temperate zone— the currant and the orange, the cherry and the fig, the 
strawberry and the pineapple, the banana and plantain as well as the 
apple and medlar. It might be supposed that the quality of these products 
must of necessity suffer grievously under the stress of their mutual con- 
cessions of habit ; and this, of course, is true as regards the highest quali- 
ties of the extremes under the judgment of the expert, but unperceived 



380 THE GREAT WEST. 

to a surprising degree by the taste of the public in the general market. 
The oranges grown in some of the sheltered valleys of the Coast Range 
and on the red soils of the foot-hills, as far north as Butte county, often 
successfully dispute the precedence with the product of Los Angeles and 
San Bernardino. 

The exportation of dried fruits of all kinds is doubtless destined to be- 
come one of the most important branches of agricultural industry in the 
State, both on account of quality and of the natural facilities for the dry- 
ing process offered by the dry summer air. It is found to be absolutely 
necessary to exclude in the drying operations all access of insects, which 
otherwise lay their eggs in the fruit and spoil it within a year. This is 
now very generally and effectually accomplished by the use of the best dry- 
ing-apparatus, not uncommonly in co-operative factories erected by com- 
panies or granges. The quality of the prunes, plums, apricots, pears, etc. 
cured by some of these establishments is not behind the best of the kind 
imported from France and Italy, but as yet the neatness and convenience 
of the packages are not so generally what is necessary to render them 
equally attractive to the purchaser. 

While the orange, lemon, lime, and other sub-tropical fruits are more 
or less in cultivation up to the northern third of the State, they form the 
specialty of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and adjoining counties, where 
also the pineapple, banana, guava, and other more strictly tropical fruits 
are mainly under trial. In a measure, what has been said above of the 
more northern fruits applies here also. While much fruit of the highest 
quality is produced, much also is still in the experimental stage, and some 
very poor lots are occasionally thrown upon the market. The subject has 
lately, however, been earnestly taken in hand by the young but propor- 
tionally energetic Horticultural Society of South California, in which a 
number of the most intelligent men have combined to determine in the 
shortest possible time, by systematic experiments, discussion, and scientific 
investigation, in connection with the agricultural department of the uni- 
versity, the practically important questions relating to this culture., While 
the orange and lemon product is marketed without difficulty and at good 
prices, the millions of excellent limes borne by the hedges customary in 
the southern part of the State are still mostly allowed to decay where they 
fall. The manufacture of citric acid can hardly fail before long to put an 
end to this waste of precious material. The pomegranate, which is to 
some extent similarly used, generally finds a ready sale for its fruit. The 
olive, so generally found around the old missions as a relic of the past, 
has not so far found its place in general culture, and on the shelves of the 



CALIFORNIA. 381 

grocers in the cities we still find the same mixtures of cotton-seed, peanut, 
and other oils, with a modicum of the genuine product of the olive, that 
form the standing complaint of salad-eaters throughout the United States. 
The subject of olive-culture has of late attracted considerable attention, 
and small quantities of excellent oil have been made in various parts of 
the State, proving beyond cavil that its production can be made an im- 
portant industry. The culture of the fig in California is coextensive with 
that of the vine, and the fresh and dried fruit of the highest quality is 
found in the market. 

As to nuts, the European walnut, the Italian chestnut, and the almond 
are those whose culture on a large scale has been successfully carried out. 
The filbert may also be mentioned. Of these, the almond has been made 
the subject of the largest experiments, and, as might be expected, there 
have been numerous disappointments in consequence of the selection of 
unsuitable localities, subject to light frosts at the time of bloom. The 
best results have been obtained in situations moderately elevated above 
the valleys — " thermal belts " where the cold air cannot accumulate. The 
quality of the product leaves nothing to be desired where proper care is 
had in the selection of varieties. 

The Japanese persimmon promises here, as in the Southern United 
States, to prove an important acquisition. The jujube, the carob, the 
pistachio-nut, and many others are under trial. 

Of small fruits, the strawberry is in the market during the twelve 
months of the year. Raspberries and blackberries are largely grown, 
both for market and canning. The currant is of especial excellence and 
size, and is extensively grown between the rows in orchards. Goose- 
berries have not been altogether successful in general culture. 

A good deal has been said and written about coifee-culture. It was 
currently reported that a kind of coffee grew wild in the foot-hills, and 
that of course the real coffee must succeed. The " wild coffee," however, 
is simply the California buckthorn (Frangula Californiea), and of course 
no more suitable for a beverage than turnip-seed. True, coffee trees are 
now growing at numerous points in the State, but it is not probable that 
the culture will prove a success outside of South California. 



382 THE GREAT WEST. 

GOLD-MINING. 



WHATEVER may have been said of the evils that have been in- 
flicted upon humanity by the thirst for gold, this fact stands out 
prominently — that just in proportion to the abundance of the precious 
metals, in the same ratio have the arts and sciences flourished, trade and 
commerce increased, the area of civilization been extended, and the com- 
fort, intelligence, and freedom of the masses augmented. " But for the 
discovery of gold in California," says McClcllan, " more than likely San 
Francisco would be to-day an obscure outpost upon our western coast, 
Oregon would still be a Territory, Alaska still under the imperial rule of 
the czar, and the great valleys of California untilled." He might have 
added, " There would have been no railroad across the continent, and 
towns and villages would not have bordered the iron track." Where 
but a few years since the wild buffalo wandered undisturbed, where the 
war-whoop of the merciless savage struck terror to the hearts of the 
weary emigrants toiling across the continent to plant the flag and rear the 
altars of freedom still farther toward the setting sun, is now heard the 
cheerful whistle of the locomotive as it rushes on over mountain and 
plain with the speed of the whirlwind. Happy cottagers, secure in their 
homes, lift up their voices and greet the welcome messenger of civiliza- 
tion as it speeds on in the track of " the star of empire " with its load 
of living freight. 

The discovery of gold in California gave an impetus to commerce that 
resulted in giving to the world a new style of naval architecture — the 
American clipper ship. But for this discovery there would now have 
been no lines of steamers to Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and China 
— marine palaces that they are, that rob the ocean of half its terrors. 
Every country bordering upon, and every island bounded by, the vast 
Pacific Ocean, has been benefited, and its pace in the race of civilization 
accelerated, by the discovery of gold in California. 

It is true gold had been found in California prior to 1848 ; even so far 
back as 1510 — seventy years before Sir Francis Drake made his descent 
upon this coast and reported the existence of gold in California — the fact 
had been noted in a small volume published that year in Spain. The 
first discovery of " pay dirt " was made near Los Angeles in the year 
1838, and these placers were profitably worked for a number of years. 
In 1840, Thomas O. Larkin, United States Consul for California, in his 



CALIFORNIA. 383 

report to the Secretary of State, said : " There is no doubt but that gold, 
silver, quicksilver, copper, lead, sulphur, and coal-mines exist in this ter- 
ritory." Sixty-six days after the date of this paper Commodore Sloat 
hoisted the American flag over the fort at Monterey and took possession 
of the country in the name of the United States. Had he arrived but 
a few hours later, the flag of England would have been hoisted in place 
of the Stars and Stripes, for the British admiral had sailed from Ma- 
zatlan about the same time and on the same errand, but was beaten in 
the race. 

Though the precious metals were known to exist previously in Cali- 
fornia, the grand epoch of the age dates from the discovery of Marshall 
on the banks of the American River, and this happened just ten days 
before the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed. It is difficult to 
avoid the impression that this discovery was delayed by the Ruler of 
events until the times were ripe for its benefits to become widespread 
among the nations of the earth. 

The first attempts at mining were made with implements of the rudest 
character ; nor were any others needed at that time, for in many cases 
from fifty to one hundred dollars were taken out in one day. Picks, pans, 
and shovels w T ere first used. The pans were about the size of milk-pans, 
with a ledge soldered ai'ound the outside to assist in handling them. They 
were first filled with the auriferous dirt and sunk in the water, which 
flowed in over the sides ; when completely saturated, the dirt Avas stirred 
and the settling of the gold facilitated by a circular motion. The top 
dirt was then poured off. This was repeated until nothing but gold and 
black sand was left, both of which were bagged together in a small buck- 
skin sack, and the black sand afterward taken out with a magnet. Some 
experience (but the art is easily acquired) is necessary to prevent some of 
the gold from escaping toward the close of the operation. The rocker 
was brought to California from Chili. It very much resembles the old- 
fashioned baby-cradle with rockers. The dirt is thrown in upon a screen 
in one end, while the water passing over sets the gold free, which falls to 
the bottom, while the dirt floats off, and the stones are thrown out by 
hand. The long-tom is a box or short sluice through which a stream of 
water is kept running. Into this box the dirt is thrown, which, carried 
down by the stream, falls upon a screen that will only permit small par- 
ticles to pass through. When the gold is fine, quicksilver is sometimes 
used in the bottom of the screen. While the pans and rockers were 
mostly used on the bars convenient to the streams, the long-toms were an 
invention best adapted to the gulches, where water could only be had in 



384 THE GREAT WEST. 

the rainy season. But as the difficulties of securing the gold increased the 
genius of the inventive Yankee was equal to the occasion. For river- 
bed mining sluices were invented. These are made of boards sawed for 
the purpose, the bottom board being wider at one end, enabling the small 
end to be shipped in forming a lap-joint ; transverse cleats, called riffles, 
are nailed along the bottom, or other means involving the same principle 
are adopted to save the gold. These riffles are generally charged with 
quicksilver, and on occasions are not " cleaned up " for weeks. These 
sluices are sometimes two or three hundred, and in hydraulic mining 
even a thousand, feet long. 

The beds of the rivers or creeks are mined by turning the stream in 
the dry season, when the water is low. For river-bed mining a favor- 
able location, where the tailings can be got rid of, is selected, and a dam 
thrown across the stream, while a canal to carry away the water is built 
along one bank of the river. The seepage- water is taken out by means 
of a pump, generally worked by a stream of water taken from the dam. 
When the space below the dam is comparatively dry, the miners wade in, 
encased in gum-boots impervious to water, and with shovels strip off the 
top dirt, the gold being found in the clay on the bed-rock, in the crevices, 
and around the bases of the boulders. These are raised from their beds 
where too large to be removed by bars and levers, and the dirt worked out 
from under them and thrown into the sluices that run the entire length 
of the claim. The large rocks are sometimes broken up by sledges or 
blasted, and stacked upon one side clear of the work. 

As the miners continued their explorations up the streams toward the 
Sierras, it was soon discovered that the banks of the rivers grew less 
auriferous beyond a certain point. This led to the discovery of the " blue- 
gravel " leads, or the beds of the " dead rivers," as they have been called. 
In some places this gravel is found cemented, and has to be crushed with 
stamps, like gold-quartz. These gravel deposits were sometimes buried 
to the depths of thousands of feet beneath the lava of volcanic eruptions. 
Under these the miners were compelled to tunnel. What has been said 
in regard to tunnelling veins does not apply to these horizontal deposits 
of auriferous gravel, that could not be reached in any other manner. The 
propensity for tunnelling, so common in California under all circumstances, 
was doubtless acquired by these early examples. 

High up in the recesses of the Sierra Nevada Mountains are to be 
found immense deposits of auriferous dirt several hundred feet in depth. 
Where these beds are extensive and water plenty and convenient, these 
claims pay to work even though the gold present does not exceed one cent 



CALIFORNIA. 385 

to the square foot of dirt, though most of them pay much more than that. 
It is necessary to have a good head of water — not less than fifty feet above 
the bed-rock. This water is led into a small reservoir, into which it is 
continuously pouring. From this a hose extends to the bottom of the 
claim. At the end of this hose is a nozzle, tapering from eight inches 
at the butt to two inches at the orifice. From this the water rushes with 
such force that it will kill a man as quick as if struck by a bar of steel. 
When this stream of water is projected against the bank, the dirt or clay 
is loosened and carried by the current into the sluices, where it is pulver- 
ized and the gold set free by pounding against the riffles in its down- 
ward course. Hydraulic mining may be considered the perfection of 
placer-mining, and Americans may pride themselves with being the 
inventors. 

When the dirt in these claims is very compact, it is sometimes blasted 
out. Long tunnels are run with cross-cuts at the end, in which are stored 
from one to two hundred kegs of powder, the tunnel filled up and the 
blast set off. The effect is like a young earthquake in the neighborhood, 
and thousands of tons of earth and gravel — the debris of ages — is torn 
from its long resting-place and carried by the torrents to the plains below, 
where, as in Bear Valley, it has submerged farms. 

So much has been said of vein-mining that little more remains to be 
told. Attention was given to gold quartz- veins in this State as early as 
1850. The Mexicans had located some of the richest lodes, and worked 
the ores in arrastras, after the manner of Mexico. Some even had found 
rock rich enough to pay handsomely by crushing the choicest specimens 
in mortars. The first quartz-mill was erected in 1851 at Grass Valley, 
where this industry has ever since been successfully prosecuted. Some 
of the mines in this locality have paid large fortunes to their owners. 
But few of them have ever been put upon the stock board, and under the 
direction and management of experienced Cornish miners they have been 
economically developed by shafts following the direction of the vein, 
which is proved by experience to be the most economical method of work- 
ing a mine wherever this plan is found practicable. There are many gold 
quartz-veins in the State that cannot be made to pay to work on account 
of the rebellious character of the ores, caused by their combination with 
base metals and sulphur. It is to be hoped that we are on the eve of a 
revolution in metallurgical processes that will enable all these mines to 
be worked at a profit. 

One of the most remarkable deposits of gold in California is to be 
found on the Pacific coast, extending from Trinidad, a small port near 

25 



386 THE GREAT WEST. 

Humboldt Bay, to Crescent City. Along this shore is a high bluff of 
gravel-drift, which most likely owes its existence to the Glacial Period. 
That it was once elevated far above the level of the sea there is abundant 
evidence ; it is now, however, being constantly washed away by the action 
of the waves. One of its peculiarities is the great abundance of black 
sand which may be gathered anywhere along the beach at low water, and 
with it minute particles of glittering gold. There was a great rush to 
Gold Bluff in the early days, but the excitement soon died out, and many a 
flat-broke adventurer returned to curse his folly and the unlucky fate that 
made him the victim of designing speculators, who had lured him away 
from a paying claim, which he had abandoned for some one else to jump, in 
the delusive hope of striking it richer somewhere else. This is the rock 
upon which thousands of " Forty-niners " have been wrecked. There 
are, however, yet a number of good paying claims along this beach. It 
has been conjectured that the richest sands are to be found at some dis- 
tance from the shore, and a vessel was fitted out with a diving-apparatus 
for the purpose of securing these golden sands, but the enterprise proved 
a failure. 

The quicksilver-mines of California are next to the gold-mines in im- 
portance. Cinnabar has been found in the Coast Range from Trinity 
county to Santa Barbara. The famous New Almaden mine, in Santa 
Clara county, was discovered some years before the gold-placers. Besides 
supplying the demands of California, a surplus was exported to Mexico 
and China for years before any other quicksilver-mine was worked in this 
State. Rapidly as the demand for quicksilver has increased since the dis- 
covery of silver and gold in Nevada, Idaho, and Montana, California has 
proved equal to the emergency, and has supplied the increasing demand, 
with an abundance left for foreign importation, so continuous and rapid 
have been the developments of our cinnabar-ledges. At this time the 
most prolific quicksilver district is within a circle around Mount St.- 
Helena whose radius does not exceed thirty miles. In this district are 
situated the Redington and Manhattan mines at Knoxville, several in 
Pope Valley, the Great Eastern and Great Western in Lake county, and 
a number of others in Pine Flat and the vicinity of the Geysers. Besides 
these are a number of others that have not been referred to, and others 
that have not been developed, or even prospected, for want of capital. A 
number are also lying idle, owing to a cloud over the titles awaiting 
settlement. These are the effects of bad legislation. Many of our min- 
ing laws seem to have been framed with an eye to the division of mining 
profits among the legal profession. These mercurial ores are mostly found 



CALIFORNIA. 387 

in a matrix of silica, in some places resembling chalcedony, in others 
flint, but generally known among the miners as serpentine. It occurs in 
vast ledges, in some places two or three hundred feet wide, as at the Man- 
hattan mine, and very frequently is traced for thirty or forty miles, as is 
the case with the Redington and Great Western lodes. These veins, be- 
ing in the rural districts, have, many of them, been discovered and are 
now owned and worked by farmers or others who know nothing about 
mining, and, as a natural consequence, the work is wretchedly done, 
while in other cases money is being wasted upon barren rocks where 
there is not the remotest prospect of finding cinnabar. 



THE CHINESE QUESTION. 

BY CHAELES G. YALE. 



rTIHE Chinese question is one which has been for many years vigor- 
J- ously discussed in California, but never so much as within the past 
year. There are so many arguments pro and con. that a mere enumera- 
tion of the principal points would occupy more space than we have at 
disposal. The question of Chinese immigration is of more importance 
to California than to any other State, since it is through her portals that 
the " hordes of China " are pouring, which some people think are destined 
to overrun the country, as they are now doing the islands of the South 
Pacific. 

Briefly, however, it may be stated that the opponents of Chinese immi- 
gration claim that the presence of these Asiatics in California is destruc- 
tive to the permanent welfare of the State. They do not come to settle 
or take upon themselves the duties of citizenship. They all expect to 
return to China, and even contract to have their bones returned there if 
they die here. They live on a pittance, and work for wages upon which 
a white man would starve. They purchase from each other whenever 
possible, and do as little business with the " Melican man " as may be. 
They bring no families with them, and nearly all their women in the 
State are common prostitutes. Their dwelling-places in San Francisco 
City reek with filth, and " their ways are not our ways." They crowd out 
of employment not only men and women, but boys and girls. Thousands 



388 THE GREAT WEST. 

of Chinese are employed at the expense of nearly an equal number of 
white people, who are thus kept out of work. They love their own 
country and their forms of religion so well that they have no desire 
for citizenship and no thoughts of Christianity. These and many other 
arguments are brought against them, but the principal one is that with 
the pecuniary bearing, of course : they work cheaper than white men and 
take their places. 

On the other hand, there are those that argue that if a white man, with 
the advantages of education, civilization, knowledge of mechanical appli- 
ances, intelligence, and energy, in his own land cannot compete in the race 
for life with these ignorant foreign pagans, he had better go to the wall. 
It is a deplorable fact that such is the case without a doubt. The Chiuese 
are industrious, frugal, energetic, ambitious, temperate, content with any- 
thing, require few amusements, are apt to learn, painstaking, steady, obe- 
dient — in fact, are model workmen when trained. Of this there is no 
doubt, and no one gainsays it. It is for these very reasons, however, 
when their domestic habits are considered, that white men are unable to 
compete with them. Their habits of life are totally at variance with ours. 
They crowd their dwellings like rats, and any hovel is good enough for 
them. As laborers they are by no means as good as white men : they are 
not as strong and do less work in a day. They " soldier " even more 
than the common laborers when they can and are working by the day. 
On piece-work they work like Trojans, seeming never to tire. In gangs 
they require a watchful " herder " to keep them at it, and one unused to 
their ways would lose patience at their efforts. 

The feeling is strong throughout California that the immigration of 
Chinese should be restricted. The people of the State have been con- 
demned wholesale for their opinions on the question, but strangers to the 
subject should at least consider that the Californians are possessed of or- 
dinary intelligence, and their experience should outweigh the theories of 
those who are unfamiliar with the matter. At a recent general election, 
where a vote was taken "for" and "against" Chinese immigration, only 
two hundred-odd votes were polled in favor of the Chinese out of the 
many thousands polled in the State. 

There is really not that difference of opinion on the subject there 
would seem among the inhabitants of California. The differences are 
not on the question of restricting the immigration or the policy of the 
matter ; it is only a question of means. The respectable portion of the 
community consider their presence an evil, but they at the same time 
wish to see them protected now that they are here, and do not wish to 



CALIFORNIA. 389 

see any unlawful measures adopted concerning them. They desire the 
general government to take the matter in hand and restrict any further 
immigration. Extremists wish to forcibly expel those now in the coun- 
try ; the more moderate want to let those here alone, but prevent more 
coming. They argue that those in California made the present railroad 
system of the State not only a possibility, but a fixed fact ; that their 
presence has admitted of the establishment and continuance of many 
industries which would not otherwise exist ; that they are necessary to 
gather our crops of small fruits, grapes, etc., etc. — for without them 
labor in such channels .would be scarce — to work our quicksilver and 
similar mines, to cultivate the swamp-lands, to build irrigating-ditches, to 
reclaim tule-lands, and do other drudgery and unhealthy work which 
white men would refuse. 

Probably if they confined themselves to such occupations there would 
be no complaint. But they fill the factories where shoes, hats, shirts, 
clothes, cigars, matches, rope, jute, wooden- ware, brooms, blankets, can- 
ned goods, etc. are made, and crowd out white labor. The manufacturers 
say, however, that without them these and many other industries could 
not compete with Eastern markets, and they would be compelled to close 
permanently. The Californians have been brought face to face with 
these questions and many more complicated ones from day to day for 
years, and it is small wonder that the general desire for some decision by 
the government is anxiously looked for by all classes. 



A LABOR QUESTION. 

BY HON. EDWIN R. MEADE. 



THE Chinaman comes here as a laborer. He personifies the character 
in its absolutely menial aspect — what the operation of fifty centuries 
of paganism, poverty, and oppression have made him — a mere animal 
machine, performing the duties in his accepted sphere punctually and 
patiently, but utterly incapable of any improvement ; and in this aspect 
of the question the most serious phase of the problem is presented. 

The qualities of coolie labor mentioned, and the fact that it can be se- 
cured in any desired amount and discharged without controversy, render 



390 THE GREAT WEST. 

it especially attractive to capitalists and contractors. African slave labor 
presented to some extent the same features, but in a marked degree coolie 
labor is cheaper, and therefore competitive with white labor. 

In China wages are from six to twenty cents per day, or from three to 
five dollars per month, when work can be procured, which is not always 
the case. In California wages of all kinds have been somewhat fluctua- 
ting, but, as compared with white labor, coolie labor has averaged for the 
past few years about as follows 

Domestics 10 per cent. less. 

Hostlers and gardeners 30 to 50 per cent. less. 

Farm hands 20 to 30 per cent. less. 

Common laborers 50 to 60 per cent. less. 

Artisans 50 per cent. less. 

Laundrymen, etc 50 per cent. less. 

Coolies seem adapted to all kinds of manual work except that requiring 
unusual strength, such as foundrymen, etc., and their service bears a favor- 
able comparison with white labor. It has maintained its relative cheap- 
ness, however, by reason of a public sentiment opposed to it, and in some 
degree through the ignorance of the coolies themselves of its comparative 
value. 

If wages are to be regulated by habits of living, our rates paid coolies 
are as much above their wants as they are below those of white laborers, 
and thus, while offering an inducement for immigration which is irresist- 
ible, they may yet be very much reduced and still supply the coolie's wants, 
which are of the simplest kind. He has evidently reached the minimum 
at which existence may be maintained, and he desires little more. His 
food is usually a little rice — sometimes, as in India, mixed with curry, in 
this country occasionally with a piece of pork or fish — the whole not cost- 
ing over from twenty-five cents to fifty cents per week ; besides, it is not 
exaggerated that he will feed upon the meanest kind of food, including 
vermin. His dress, now so well known, consists of the cheapest quality, 
without under-garments or any of the accessories which we consider quite 
indispensable to a complete raiment. His rent is barely nominal. He 
occupies a small room in common with twenty to fifty others, platforms 
being raised so as to economize space to the fullest extent. Coolie lodg- 
ings literally resemble a box filled with herrings. A separate room for 
cooking or other purposes, as with whites, is quite unknown. He has no 
other expenses, unless he indulges in the national vice of gambling or that 
product of British beneficence, opium-smoking. He has, therefore, little 
waste, and luxuries which with us have become recognized necessities he 
entirely ignores, including his native tea. 



CALIFORNIA. 391 

It is impossible that the white laborer can exist in presence of these 
conditions. Not only substantial food, comfortable clothing, and decent 
household accommodations are necessary to him, but his family must be 
supported in a respectable manner and schooling and religious training be 
provided for his children. These latter have become essential, and are 
the glory of our race and nation. The white laborer could not succeed 
if he would attempt competition with the coolie, and will always be 
driven from his presence, as cheap currency displaces the better; for 
while it is true that wages are relatively highest on the Pacific coast, the 
coolie reduces wages and competes everywhere. White labor will not 
submit to the degradation of a rivalry with such a competitor, but will 
either assert its power through the government or be driven from the 
presence of the coolie altogether. The rule of demand regulating supply 
may be true of coolie labor alone, but with its numbers, habits, and re- 
stricted expenses the rule will not apply to white labor at the same time. 

Recent disturbances in regard to labor show the importance of this 
aspect of the question, and irresistibly awaken the conviction that cheap 
labor is not desirable in this country ; and whatever folly there may be 
in the idea of establishing a minimum of wages by the government, it 
may properly withdraw encouragement from cheap labor, even at the ex- 
pense of dividends on diluted capital as represented in watered stock. We 
require liberal wages to meet high tariffs, high taxes, and heavy charges for 
transportation. Coolie labor means to white labor starvation, almshouses, 
prisons filled, and, lastly, capital wasting itself. Liberal wages and white 
labor mean prosperity for all classes and progress in the ways of Chris- 
tian civilization. All fancied advantages which have followed the intro- 
duction of coolies in this country disappear before the prospects to which 
their future in this country would invite us. 



DECISION BY THE CIECUIT COURT. 



IN the test case (March, 1880) to try the validity of the State law of 
California prohibiting the employment of Chinese by corporations, 
Judges Sawyer and Hoffman of the Circuit Court in San Francisco 
declared the law unconstitutional. In summing up the case the court 
delivered the following opinion : 



392 THE GREAT WEST. 

" That the unrestricted immigration of the Chinese to this country is 
a great and growing evil, that it presses with great severity on the labor- 
ing and operative classes, and that if allowed to continue in numbers in 
any considerable proportion to that of the teeming population of the 
Chinese empire it will be a menace to our peace and even our civilization, 
is an opinion entertained by most thoughtful persons in this State. 

" The demand, therefore, that the treaty shall be rescinded or modified 
is reasonable and legitimate. But while that treaty exists the Chinese 
have the same rights of immigration and residence as are possessed by 
any other foreigners. These rights it is the duty of the courts to main- 
tain and of the government to enforce. The declaration that the Chinese 
must go, peaceably or forcibly, is an insolent contempt of national obli- 
gations and defiance of national authority. Before it can be carried into 
eifect by force the authority of the United States must first be not only 
tried, but resisted and overcome. 

" The attempt to effect this object by violence will be crushed by the 
power of the government. The attempt to attain the same object indi- 
rectly will be met with equal promptness by the courts, no matter whether 
it assumes the guise of an exercise of the political power, or the power 
to regulate corporations, or any other power reserved by the State, and 
no matter whether it take the power of a constitutional provision, legis- 
lative enactment, or municipal ordinance." 



EXTRACT FROM AN ADDRESS BY REV. 
JOSEPH COOK. 



THE Chinese question is really whether the monopoly of low-paid 
labor shall be given to the Irish and other foreign elements, or shall 
be divided with the Chinamen ? If the Chinamen now in San Francisco 
were expelled, wages would go up again — not to the height at which they 
stood in the gold period, but far higher than they are now. At present 
they are conspicuously higher than they are in the East. There was a 
day in California when the average workingman was paid ten dollars for 
ten hours of labor, and eggs cost twenty-five cents apiece. The time has 
now come when the Chinaman receives about what we pay white laborers 
in the East. 



CALIFORNIA. 393 

John Chinaman has not displaced anybody: he has filled up gaps. 
White men, let us suppose, abandon a mine when it will not pay three 
dollars a day to each laborer. The Chinaman is content with two dollars 
a day, and he works the mine. Has he displaced the miner who abandons 
the mine ? He has taken his place, but he has only filled up a vacancy. 

If a man wishes to start a woollen-factory, and must pay three dollars 
a day for labor, he sees he cannot do it in San Francisco and compete 
with Lowell and Lawrence. In comes John Chinaman, who can be hired 
for a price at which it will pay to manufacture woollen goods on the 
Pacific Slope. The Irishman, with the pickaxe and the hod, does part 
of the work of putting up the factory, and there is work made in various 
ways for all the higher grades of labor by the coming in of laborers at 
prices that permit profit. The Pacific Slope needs diversification of 
labor, and the Chinaman has helped to supply this need. Wages will come 
to a level on the Pacific Slope, and manufacturing will start up in Cali- 
fornia. 

The fact that ninety thousand Chinamen find constant employment on 
the Pacific coast at a respectable rate of remuneration is proof that they 
are needed there. A man who employs Chinamen is to be counted as in 
favor of Chinese immigration. If one hundred and forty thousand votes 
should be cast against Chinese immigration in California, it would yet be 
true that the majority are really in favor of it, because more than seventy 
thousand people in California employ Chinamen. The newspapers of 
San Francisco do not properly represent the feelings of the best classes 
of society there on the Chinese question. 



OUE KELATIONS WITH CHINA. 

BY S. W. WILLIAMS, LL.D. 



TN considering the political relations between China and the United 
-L States it is well to refer to the fifth article in the treaty negotiated at 
Washington, known as the Burlingame Treaty, as it is continually re- 
ferred to in this country as bearing on the immigration of the Chinese. 
It is supposed by many that that article stimulated emigration to America, 
as its modification or abrogation will stop it. Though Mr. Burlingame 



394 THE GREAT WEST. 

was invested with full powers, it was not expected that he would negoti- 
ate any new treaties, and his associate envoys were very reluctant to affix 
their names to this one without express instructions from Peking. It is, 
as a whole, rather an amplification of the stipulations and spirit of the 
treaty of 1858, and does not grant any really new privileges. 

It is not likely that the Burlingame Treaty has ever had any percepti- 
ble effect on the immigration of the Chinese to this country. Few, very 
few, of the people know that such an article as the one mentioned exists. 
They do know that none of their countrymen go as contract-laborers to 
the United States, and that when a man leaves Hong-Kong under the 
American flag for the Kau-Kam-Shan, or old Gold Hills, there is a cer- 
tainty of his friends hearing from him, and of his return home (if living) 
when he pleases. This treaty was made about twenty years after the im- 
migration to California had set in, and myriads had gone out and re- 
turned home in the mean time. When Mr. Burlingame returned from 
San Francisco to Peking in 1866, he reported to the Chinese that a mil- 
lion of laborers could find employment on the Pacific coast. The Pacific 
Railroad had not then been completed, and the prospect to the capitalists 
engaged in that and other public and private works of getting labor from 
China at a cheaper rate than could elsewhere be obtained was very tempt- 
ing. The Chinese were likely to be well treated when they could be 
hired at half the price of Irish and German laborers. 

It should be stated, too, that, strictly speaking, none come to this 
country direct from China : from the very first thay have all sailed away 
to San Francisco from British territory ; the ships have come under British 
rules and restrictions in relation to provisioning and numbers ; and Brit- 
ish officers at Hong-Kong have given clearances to ships with Chinese 
going to San Francisco, just as British officers have given them to ships 
with Irish going from Queenstown. The Burlingame Treaty would not 
anyhow have prevented Chinese going to Hong-Kong, and the emperor 
of China cannot stop his subjects going abroad. The old and common 
ideas respecting the danger to a man who did so have been exaggerated, 
for no one was punished who returned home ; on the contrary, in olden 
times he was regarded with curious interest if he had gone at first from 
places far in the interior. Probably not five per cent, ever did return ; 
and far the greater part of those who have gone to Siam, India, and the 
Archipelago, and elsewhere, went of their own accord, and on the same 
conditions that they have gone to California and Australia — viz. by mort- 
gaging their labor to pay for their passage. 

The above is one side of the Chinese question. That of treaties, of 



CALIFORNIA. 395 

capital and labor, and of treatment of our citizens in China, where we 
have compelled their rulers to let us live under our own laws within their 
borders, is the other. This right of ex-territorial jurisdiction is a sore 
spot in the minds of those rulers, and they usually oppose any demands 
for further privileges on the part of American representatives, and even 
of all foreign nations, by comparing the legal position of the two peoples 
in each other's territories. 

Comparing the civilization of one class with that of the other in this 
singular condition of things, what do we see? The first has been nur- 
tured under the highest standards of moral principles, and claims to be 
guided by elevated sentiments and an intelligent public opinion; and 
yet all this has failed to secure the commonest rights of humanity to the 
second, which is weak, ignorant, poor, and unprotected. When the 
Chinese first arrived in California after the gold was discovered, they 
were not allowed to testify in the courts, and the consequences were such 
as were well known in the slave States, where the evidence of negroes 
was ruled out. Murders, robberies, oppressions, and assaults upon them 
became so common, and usually so unpunishable for want of evidence, 
that the legislators of California, for their own protection, were induced 
to pass an act allowing the Chinese to testify. Discriminating laws were 
passed against them, and their labor was taxed without securing to them 
the protection and privileges they paid for. The fact that the treaties 
were made with the government of the United States seems to have had 
no weight with the rulers of the States where the Chinese suffered these 
things. They fell between two stools. They had neither opportunity to 
know their treaty-rights, money to go into the proper courts, advocates 
to plead for them, nor the least consular protection or cognizance from 
their own home government in Peking. The high officers there were 
urged to appoint suitable men to go to San Francisco as Chinese consuls, 
but while they acknowledged its importance, they could not, rather than 
would not, see their way clear to do so. 

To say that the great majority of Chinese now in our borders are fairly 
treated and have been paid their wages, and that the cases of outrage and 
unredressed wrongs form the vast exception, is simply to evade the re- 
sponsibility which rests on a government to secure protection to every 
individual within its jurisdiction. The government of the United States 
properly requires and expects that every American citizen visiting or re- 
siding in China shall be treated justly by the Chinese government, and 
its consuls dwelling at the ports would soon be recalled if they failed to 
do their utmost to redress wrongs suffered in life, limb, or property by 



396 THE GREAT WEST. 

the poorest citizen. The imperial government has already paid out 
about eight hundred thousand dollars to indemnify the losses of our 
citizens within its territory. Some of these losses were incurred by the 
direct act of British forces setting fire to the houses of Americans, and 
almost in no case were they caused by direct attacks on them as such. 
Mission-chapels have been destroyed or pillaged by mobs at Tientsin, 
Shanghai, Fuhchau, and Canton, and indemnity made in every case. 

How mortifying is the record of robberies, murders, arsons, and as- 
saults committed on peaceable Chinese living on the Pacific coast, not one 
of whom had any power to plead his case, and most of whom probably 
suffered in silence ! Do we excuse ourselves from fulfilling treaty-obli- 
gations — the most solemn obligations a nation can impose on itself, and 
whose infraction ought always to involve loss of character and moral 
power — because the Chinese government is a pagan government, and 
weak, too, as well ? Can this nation look quietly on while Chinese are 
murdered and their houses burned over their heads in California, and 
no one is executed for such murders or mulcted for such arsons, and then 
excuse itself for such a breach of faith because these acts were committed 
in that State and no Chinese consul is there to plead officially for redress ? 
It is not implied by this that no murderer has ever been executed for tak- 
ing their lives or robber punished for his crimes. But every one knows 
that such criminals do escape punishment, and that the Chinese in that 
State feel their insecurity and weakness. Woe be to them if they should 
attempt to redress their own wrongs ! 

This point is quite a different question from the speculative ones — 
Whether the immigration of the Chinese should be allowed ? whether 
their labor will not destroy our own ? whether we can absorb and assim- 
ilate such a mass of ignorant, immoral, and degraded heathens ? The 
point brought up in these remarks refers to the treaty-obligations the 
American people have voluntarily taken upon themselves in reference 
to the Chinese. We may say that we are suffering these evils from that 
people, and are determined to prevent any more of them coming. If the 
balance of evils suffered by the parties to these treaties were struck, the 
Chinese would be found to have had by far the worst of them. It is 
better far to show that the treaties have brought more good results in 
their train to both than evil, and that it is for our own highest welfare 
to treat those whom we have done so much to induce to come here with 
at least as much justice as we demand of them. Some fear that this 
country will be swamped altogether by this flood of aliens, but the one 
hundred and twenty-five thousand, or so, of Chinese now in this land, 



CALIFORNIA. 397 

with few exceptions, all came from a small portion — two prefectures — of 
Kwangtung province. There is no probability of other parts of the em- 
pire joining in this emigration, for several reasons, one of which is the 
great difference in their dialects. The labor question, also, is quite irrel- 
evant to the one before us. The laws of supply and demand, wages and 
work, food and machinery, are among the most vital and difficult of solu- 
tion among mankind, and will doubtless often come into collision until 
their complicated interests are better understood. But to allow one igno- 
rant laborer to maltreat another with impunity because the former is 
stronger, has a vote, and will not try to understand why he suffers just 
as myriads of other laborers do who are not troubled with the " heathen 
Chinee," is to sap and weaken all law and order. If they are an inferior 
race, as we roundly assert, there is no fear of their ever interfering with 
our supremacy here in any department, and policy alone would counsel 
us to treat them fairly ; and, on the other hand, if they can rise in our 
own land, under the same democratic institutions and Christian training, 
to be our equals, we cannot, as a nation living next to them just across 
the Pacific, well afford to treat them as enemies. 

The Chinese were treated reasonably well in California as long as our 
citizens could make money out of their cheap labor and when the hopes 
of getting a large portion of the China and East India trade were en- 
couraging. They had not carefully studied the thrifty and economical 
habits of the laborers whom they invited in to compete with native 
workmen, nor how soon the real power of those habits, which have 
given the Chinese their superiority in Asia, would be seen here. No 
measures were taken by the rulers of California or San Francisco to com- 
pel the immigrants to live with some regard to their own health and the 
public comfort, but when they became " nuisances " to others from their 
overcrowding, then the whole blame was put upon them, whereas the 
chief fault lay with the municipality for not teaching them how to live 
properly. Further, a wise policy would have led the city and State 
authorities to educate suitable men in the Chinese language, who could 
have acted as their interpreters and translators, and thus maintained an 
intelligent intercourse with these people. Nothing of the kind has ever 
been done, though measures are taken in several other States to aid Ger- 
mans, Norwegians, etc. in understanding our laws in their own tongue, so 
that no mistakes may be made. 



398 THE GREAT WEST. 



THE BURLINGAME TREATY. 



Additional Articles to the Treaty between the United States of America and 
the Ta-Tsing Empire of the 18th of June, 1858. 

WHEREAS, since the conclusion of the treaty between the United 
States of America and the Ta-Tsing empire (China) of the 18th 
of June, 1858, circumstances have arisen showing the necessity of addi- 
tional articles thereto, the President of the United States and the august 
sovereign of the Ta-Tsing empire have named for their plenipotentiaries, 
to wit — the President of the United States of America, William H. Sew- 
ard, Secretary of State ; and His Majesty the emperor of China, Anson 
Burlingame, accredited as his envoy extraordinary and minister plenipo- 
tentiary, and Chih-Kang and Sun Chia-Ku, of the second Chinese rank, 
associated high envoys and ministers of His said Majesty ; and the said 
plenipotentiaries, after having exchanged their full powers, found to be 
in due and proper form, have agreed upon the following articles : 

Article I. His Majesty the emperor of China being of the opinion 
that, in making concessions to the citizens or subjects of foreign powers 
of the privilege of residing on certain tracts of land or resorting to cer- 
tain waters of that empire for purposes of trade, he has by no means 
relinquished his right of eminent domain or dominion over the said land 
and waters, hereby agrees that no such concession or grant shall be con- 
strued to give to any power or party which may be at war with or hostile 
to the United States the right to attack the citizens of the United States 
or their property within the said lands or waters ; and the United States, 
for themselves, hereby agree to abstain from offensively attacking the 
citizens or subjects of any power or party or their property with which 
they may be at war on any such tract of land or waters of the said em- 
pire ; but nothing in this article shall be construed to prevent the United 
States from resisting an attack by any hostile power or party upon their 
citizens or their property. It is further agreed that if any right or 
interest in any tract of land in China has been or shall hereafter be 
granted by the government of China to the United States or their citi- 
zens for purposes of trade or commerce, that grant shall in no event be 
construed to divest the Chinese authorities of their right of jurisdiction 
over persons and property within said tract of land, except so far as that 
right may have been expressly relinquished by treaty. 

Art. II. The United States of America and His Majesty the emperor 



CALIFORNIA. 399 

of China, believing that the safety and prosperity of commerce will 
thereby best be promoted, agree that any privilege or immunity in 
respect to trade or navigation within the Chinese dominions which may 
not have been stipulated for by treaty shall be subject to the discretion 
of the Chinese government, and may be regulated by it accordingly, but 
not in a manner or spirit incompatible with the treaty-stipulations of the 
parties. 

Art. III. The emperor of China shall have the right to appoint con- 
suls at ports of the United States, who shall enjoy the same privileges 
and immunities as those which are enjoyed by public law and treaty in 
the United States by the consuls of Great Britain and Russia, or either 
of them. 

Art. IV. The twenty-ninth article of the treaty of the 18th of June, 
1858, having stipulated for the exemption of Christian citizens of the 
United States and Chinese converts from persecution in China on account 
of their faith, it is further agreed that citizens of the United States in China 
of every religious persuasion, and Chinese subjects in the United States, 
shall enjoy entire liberty of conscience, and shall be exempt from all disabil- 
ity or persecution on account of .their religious faith or worship in either 
country. Cemeteries for sepulture of the dead of whatever nativity or 
nationality shall be held in respect and free from disturbance or profanation. 

Art. V. The United States of America and the emperor of China 
cordially recognize the inherent and inalienable right of man to change 
his home and allegiance, and also the mutual advantage of the free 
migration and emigration of their citizens and subjects respectively from 
the one country to the other for purposes of curiosity, of trade, or as 
permanent residents. The high contracting parties, therefore, join in 
reprobating any other than an entirely voluntary emigration for these 
purposes. They consequently agree to pass laws making it a penal 
offence for a citizen of the United States or Chinese subjects to take 
Chinese subjects either to the United States or to any other foreign coun- 
try, or for a Chinese subject or citizen of the United States to take citi- 
zens of the United States to China or to any other foreign country, with- 
out their free and voluntary consent respectively. 

Art. VI. Citizens of the United States visiting or residing in China 
shall enjoy the same privileges, immunities, or exemptions in respect to 
travel or residence as may there be enjoyed by the citizens or subjects of 
the most favored nation, and, reciprocally, Chinese subjects visiting or re- 
siding in the United States shall enjoy the same privileges, immunities, and 
exemptions in respect to travel or residence as may there be enjoyed by 



400 THE GREAT WEST. 

the citizens or subjects of the most favored nation. But nothing here- 
in contained shall be held to confer naturalization upon citizens of the 
United States in China nor upon the subjects of China in the United States. 

Art. VII. Citizens of the United States shall enjoy all the privileges 
of the public educational institutions under the control of the government 
of China, and, reciprocally, Chinese subjects shall enjoy all the privileges 
of the public educational institutions under the control of the govern- 
ment of the United States, which are enjoyed in the respective countries 
by the citizens or subjects of the most favored nation. The citizens of 
the United States may freely establish and maintain schools within the 
empire of China at those places where foreigners are by treaty permitted 
to reside, and, reciprocally, Chinese subjects may enjoy the same priv- 
ileges and immunities in the United States. 

Art. VIII. The United States, always disclaiming and discouraging 
all practices of unnecessary dictation and intervention by one nation in 
the affairs or domestic administration of another, do hereby freely disclaim 
and disavow any intention or right to intervene in the domestic adminis- 
tration of China in regard to the construction of railroads, telegraphs, or 
other material internal improvements. On the other hand, His Majesty 
the emperor of China reserves to himself the right to decide the time and 
manner and circumstances of introducing such improvements within his 
dominions. With this mutual understanding it is agreed by the contract- 
ing parties that if at any time hereafter His Imperial Majesty shall de- 
termine to construct or cause to be constructed works of the character 
mentioned within the empire, and shall make application to the United 
States or any other Western power for facilities to carry out that policy, 
the United States will, in that case, designate and authorize suitable en- 
gineers to be employed by the Chinese government, and will recommend 
to other nations an equal compliance with such application, the Chinese 
government in that case protecting such engineers in their persons and 
property and paying them a reasonable compensation for their service. 

In faith Avhereof the respective plenipotentiaries have signed this treaty 
and thereto affixed the seals of their arms. 

Done at Washington the twenty-eighth day of July, in the year of our 
Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight. 

[seal.] William H. Seward. 

Anson Burlingame, 
[seal.] Chih-Kang, 

Sun Chia-Ktj. 



CONDITION OF EDUCATION IN THE STATES AND 
TERRITORIES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 

PREPAEED BY THE BUREAU OF EDUCATION, WASHINGTON, D. C. 



GENERAL, EFFECTS OF THE EXHIBITS OF AMERICAN EDUCATION. 

IN the successive international expositions from 1851 to 1878 no con- 
tributions from the United States made a stronger impression than 
her school-exhibits. They were the occasion of innumerable inquiries, 
of many foreign reports, and of imposing delegations of European offi- 
cials commissioned to examine in person that system of which the epit- 
omized representations were so suggestive. 

FOREIGN CRITICS. 

While criticisms have not been wanting in the reports of these impar- 
tial examiners, their commendations have been profuse and emphatic. 
Certainly, they do not find our schools more efficient or our standards 
higher than those of France and Germany, but they are profoundly im- 
pressed with the fact that almost every section of this vast territory, in- 
habited by a heterogeneous people, is so thoroughly imbued with the 
school spirit. However far westward the traveller pursues his way, the 
school-house is in advance of him, emphasizing by its recurrence the 
toast given at a dinner of school officers : " The ubiquitous American 
school-house." 

" What," said a Western host to his English guest en route for Pike's 
Peak — " What do you expect to see at the top of Pike's Peak ?" — " A 
school-house," was the ready response. 

MAGNITUDE OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. 

Foreigners who are hopelessly entangled in our federal divisions, who 
are not quite certain whether we are Caucasians or Indians, who fancy that 

26 401 



402 THE GREAT WEST. 

the Sand Lots are in "Wall street, whose imaginations perpetually incline 
to restrict our territory to a strip along the Atlantic, — seem to under- 
stand perfectly well that our free schools extend across a continent which 
stretches twenty-five hundred miles from shore to shore. It is difficult 
for the citizens of our own Eastern States to realize how large a propor- 
tion of our territory is west of the Mississippi, and equally difficult for 
them to comprehend that its common-school advantages are not in gen- 
eral inferior to those of the older sections. 



GENERAL VIEW OF EDUCATIONAL CONDITION. 

Every State west of the Mississippi has a school clause in its constitu- 
tion, an organized school system, a permanent school fund, and a State 
superintendent. State educational associations or similar societies exist 
in all, and six educational journals are published within their limits, 
serving to diffuse educational intelligence, to promote emulation, and to 
promulgate new ideas. Thus the common school is guaranteed by statute 
and by popular sentiment. 



EARLY ACTION. 

It is matter of history that education had taken an extensive lien on 
the Western wilds before the emigrant had located his claim. In 1785, 
Congress established "an ordinance for disposing of the lands in the 
Western Territory," which contained the following provision : " There 
shall be reserved the lot No. 16 of every township for the maintenance 
of public schools within the said township." The ordinance for the gov- 
ernment of the territory of the United States north-west of the river 
Ohio, adopted July 13, 1787, confirmed the provision of 1785. 

In 1848, on the organization of the Territory of Oregon, the quantity 
of land reserved for the benefit of common schools was doubled ; and to 
each new Territory organized and State admitted since, except West Vir- 
ginia, the sixteenth and thirty-sixth sections of every township — one- 
eighteenth of the entire area — have been granted for common schools ; 
and in 1862 the law granting lands to each State to endow "colleges of 
agriculture and the mechanic arts " was enacted. The lands granted to 
the several States under this last act aggregated 9,600,000 acres. These 
grants have been augmented by special acts and by State appropriations, 
securing to the States under consideration permanent school funds esti- 
mated, from the latest returns, as follows : 



EDUCATION WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



403 



States. 


Amount of avail- 
able school fund. 


Amount of perma- 
nent school fund, 
including portion 
not now available. 




$11,200 
2,011,800 
3,486,799 
2,288,390 
82,921 
3,859,964 
2,909,457 
2,120,182 

274,500 


$191,097 

10,000,000 

15,000,000 

7,278,503 

18,734,848 

509,000 


















Oregon 



Iii the Territories also the necessary provisions exist from which 
school systems can be developed according to the intelligence and enterprise 
of the subsequent population. Each Territory has a superintendent of 
education, appointed by the President, as in Arizona, or by the Territo- 
rial governor, as in Idaho, or elected, as in Utah, by the people ; and 
each has the nucleus of a permanent school fund arising from land 
grants. 

EXAMINATION BY STATES. 

To understand the developments from these auspicious beginnings, it 
is necessary to examine the State systems severally and in detail. 



TEXAS, LOUISIANA, AND ARKANSAS. 

Peculiar difficulties have been encountered in the endeavor to establish 
free schools where slavery existed before the war. Ignorance of the 
methods and principles of public education, false conceptions of its polit- 
ical and social as well as of its intellectual bearings, impoverished treas- 
uries, and race-prejudices have combined to resist its inception and prog- 
ress, as illustrated in the records of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and, to 
some extent, of Missouri. How largely school interests are here compli- 
cated with the question of races is suggested in the following figures : 



States. 


WHITE. 


COLORED. 


School 
popula- 
tion. 


Enrol- 
ment. 


Percentage of 

population 

enrolled. 


School 
popula- 
tion. 


Enrol- 
ment. 


Percentage of 

population 

enrolled. 


Arkansas . . 
Louisiana 
Missouri . . 
Texas . . . 


159,388 

88,567 

650,368 

149,719 


24,850 

43,197 

428,975 

105,485 


16 
49 
66 
70 


57,087 
108,548 
37,880 
44,634 


8,897 
33,632 
19,208 
41,461 


16 
31 
51 
93 



404 THE GREAT WEST. 

In Texas co-education of the races is at present prohibited by law, and 
in the other States it is rarely attempted, separate schools being in general 
preferred by both white and colored. 

This peculiar source of irritation having been disposed of according to 
local feeling, the other obstacles appear less formidable ; and if in these 
States free schools can hardly be said as yet to have the endorsement of 
public favor, their friends are earnest and judicious, a good foundation 
has been laid, and enough already achieved to justify hopeful predictions. 



Upon a close inspection Texas appears to deserve the palm for illiteracy. 
From eight to fourteen years is accounted the legal school age, which, 
with school years contracted to sessions of three months (the average du- 
ration for 1878-79), gives the somewhat startling minimum of eighteen 
months' schooling as a grand total per individual. 

In place of the district system which prevails in most States, the com- 
munity system, or voluntary association of neighboring families without 
regard to district lines, has been adopted — oftentimes the only practicable 
system in sparsely-settled communities. 

There is a noticeable preponderance of male over female teachers in the 
State, the entire number of the former, white and colored, being estimated 
at 3457, at an average salary of forty-two dollars per month, against 873 
female, at an average salary of twenty-seven dollars per month. 

Teachers cannot make legal contracts to teach without a certificate of 
examination ; in many instances the salary is fixed upon the basis of actual 
daily attendance, which appears like an insidious endeavor to combine the 
duties of teacher and truant-officer. 

Houston, with a population of 27,000, enumerates only 2214 as of legal 
school age, of which number only 1864 are enrolled in public schools, 
with an average attendance of 1420 ; nor do the surplus children appear 
to be gathered in private or church schools, only 425 being reported as 
enjoying this distinction. 

The entire school population of the State is estimated at 194,353, for 
whose accommodation there are about four thousand school-houses. 

While the foregoing details are not decidedly flattering, when we turn 
to the action of the General Assembly we realize that there is an active 
and aggressive school spirit in the State. Early in 1879 the Assembly 
passed a law making very liberal provision for the schools ; which act the 
governor vetoed. According to his own explanation, he was not un- 
friendly to the schools, but could devise no better means for their im- 



EDUCATION WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 405 

provement than cutting off their revenues till normal schools should have 
trained a better class of teachers. This novel construction of the law of 
supply and demand served to elicit vehement public discussion, and al- 
though the party of the governor prevailed to the extent of reducing the 
school appropriation from one-fourth to one-sixth of the general revenue, 
the school cause received a decided impetus. 

The most important result of this agitation was the establishment of 
two normal schools — one at Huntsville, for white, and the other at Prai- 
rie View, for colored pupils. A donation of six thousand dollars was 
made from the Peabody Fund in aid of this important measure. 

It would be unfair to leave Texas without a word for the little town 
of Brenham. This German settlement of four thousand souls presents 
the proud record of a complete course of public instruction through three 
distinct grades — viz. primary, grammar, and high schools, representing 
nine scholastic years — a model as bright and significant as the Lone Star 
of the Texan banner. 

LOUISIANA. 

In Louisiana the importance of a well-ordered system of public edu- 
cation maintained by law is fully recognized. Intelligent efforts are 
made to secure sufficient appropriations for its support, and to bring it 
under efficient and responsible supervision, and equal facilities are pro- 
vided for white and colored children. 

The number of children in Louisiana of the school age (viz. six to 
twenty-one years) is reported at 274,406; the enrolment in public schools 
83,047, or a little over one-third of the whole school population. In 
New Orleans there are 14,834 white children and 5460 colored in the 
public schools, but in the country parishes the number of white and of 
colored children is nearly equal, there being 28,363 of the former and 
28,172 of the latter. The importance of this item is realized when we 
consider that of the 10(3,000 voters of the State, 82,000 are colored, and 
that of this number 60,000 are unable to read. Fortunately, the colored 
people eagerly avail themselves of the free-school advantages. 

The clause in the law permitting the use of the French language in 
schools where* necessary is in the interests of the French population of 
the southern parishes, who cling with fond tenacity to their mother- 
tongue. 

A CHANCE PICTUEE. 

The traveller in Southern Louisiana, floating along the sluggish rivers 
and bayous, skimming past cypress-swamps or idling beneath the spread- 



406 THE GREAT WEST. 

ing cottonwood, lost in reveries of the careless life of the city above or 
of the " land of streams " around, meets, perchance, a strange being 
sculling his oyster-lugger or banana-skiff or flitting across the wastes to 
his hut in the clearing, " remote, unfriendly, melancholy, slow." The 
stamp of distinct nationality in his countenance, his dejected, listless air, 
equally at variance with the energy of the Northerner and the buoyancy 
of the Louisianian, excite curiosity. 

Pushing along the streams and crossing the labyrinth of brush and 
creeks and slips of land and water-basins, to a ridge of alluvion on the 
river-margin, the traveller beholds an Acajen settlement, a cluster of 
adobe cabins thatched with palmetto-leaves and interspersed with orange- 
groves and clumps of bananas, which indicate the industries of the simple 
tenants. 

Neither the name nor the settler suggests the Acadians of Grand Pre, 
yet, indeed, here is the last remnant of those exiles, the sad close of a life 
begun in idyllic ease upon our northern coast ; in the quiet depths of 
these swamps the Norman outcasts have found the oblivion they sought. 
Even here modern progress has thrust in its entering wedge — the free 
school. The school-building is often an impromptu log hut or a mere 
adobe cabin, the famed "maison d'Acadien." 

The work of the schools is necessarily the work of translation, doubly 
difficult, since the language of the pupils has no written expression. It 
is not English, it is not French, it is not even a dialect, but a mere patois. 
To render English books intelligible to the children, to wean them from 
the corrupted speech they love, and to substitute in its place the English 
tongue, symbol to them of oppression, is the delicate task of the teacher. 
It is a little singular that the hardest book for the English child is the 
easiest for the Acajen, as the increased number of words of Latin or 
French origin found in the higher books affords suggestive points en- 
tirely wanting in the Saxon page. You cannot help wondering, as you 
see these students poring over the lessons, if something of English energy 
and endurance will penetrate their minds through the English speech, 
and a new life spring from these forces, beautiful as Acadia, vigorous 
as the English stock which is thus grafted into their, languishing 
spirit. 

SCHOOLS OF NEW ORLEANS. 

In the city of New Orleans public schools have made greater progress 
than in the rural parishes. The primary grades are much overcrowded, 
owing to the lack of sufficient school-houses and teachers — an evil which 



EDUCATION WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 407 

the school authorities are remedying as rapidly as they can. The city has 
a just pride in her three public academies — one for white boys, another for 
white girls, and a third for colored girls and boys. The Peabody Normal 
Seminary at New Orleans, free to white students, oifers a course of pro- 
fessional training to graduates of the city academies or high schools and 
other institutions. 

NORMAL SCHOOLS. 

There is also a normal school for colored students sustained by the 
Peabody Fund, while departments in the universities of Leland, Straight, 
and New Orleans give instruction to colored pupils desiring to prepare 
themselves for teaching. 

STATE INSTITUTIONS. 

The Louisiana Institution for the Deaf and Dumb and the Institution 
for the Blind — both at Baton Rogue — evince the care of the State for 
these unfortunates. 

PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 

Many private and denominational schools are supported throughout the 
State, and are especially flourishing in New Orleans. The entire number 
of teachers employed in the free schools of the State is reported as 2168 
male and 3498 female, the former at an average salary of $33.68 per 
month, the latter of $27.10. 

ARKANSAS. 

What Arkansas needs in the matter of public education is emphatically 
more light. All the newspapers in the State are committed to the free- 
school system, and there is a marked awakening of public interest in the 
subject ; but the schools themselves are in a chaotic condition. The edu- 
cational scheme has outstripped the practical development, because the 
people have not understood how to work out their problem, nor have 
the appropriations been adequate to the requirements. 

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. 

In 1878 less than one-fifth of the whole school population was enrolled 
in public schools, and very few private schools existed. In the autumn 
of 1879, Dr. Sears, general agent for the trustees of the Peabody Fund, 
acting in concert with the State superintendent, engaged a gentleman of 



408 THE GREAT WEST. 

distinguished abilities to canvass the entire State in the threefold capacity 
of lecturer, conductor of teachers' institutes, and visitor of schools. The 
results of the effort are already apparent in a fuller realization of the im- 
portance of public education, greater fidelity on the part of school officers, 
fuller and prompter returns from district and county officers, and in- 
creased efforts on the part of teachers to organize in teachers' institutes 
and associations. 

The annual income of the State school fund, with one dollar per capita 
assessed on each male inhabitant over twenty-one, and a tax restricted to 
two mills on the dollar for the State, and to five mills on the dollar for 
school districts, affords the revenue for the public schools. In 1878 this 
amounted to $170,335, of which sum $148,393 was expended. The 
number of teachers reported for the same year was 875, at an average 
salary of fifty dollars per month for men and forty dollars for women. 

COLLEGIATE INSTITUTIONS. 

The Arkansas Industrial University, at Fayetteville, is a State institution 
for white students, endowed with the national land grant. It combines 
classical, agricultural, mechanical, and normal departments. Since the 
importance of special training for teachers is recognized, efforts are being 
made to increase the efficiency of the normal training in this institution, 
and also in the branch normal college at Pine Bluff for colored students. 
There are four other collegiate institutions in the State — viz. Arkansas 
College, Batesville ; Cane Hill College, Boonsborough ; Judson Univer- 
sity, Judsonia ; and St. John's College, Little Rock — all admitting women 
to their privileges. 

BENEFITS OP THE PEABODY FUND. 

The disbursements from the Peabody Fund have been of incalculable 
benefit in the development of free schools in the South. From 1868 to 
1878, inclusive, Texas received $26,300 j Louisiana, $63,428 ; and Ar- 
kansas, $66,200 from this source. 

It would be absurd to apply to these States standards derived from the 
old, populous, wealthy, and thoroughly-organized communities of the 
East. Imperfect and irregular methods of report make it impossible for 
their educational statistics to be regarded as anything more than approx- 
imate estimates ; it is from the consideration of general conditions, rather 
than from the study of details, that we can determine what has been ac- 
complished and read the promise of the future. 

The project to push forward the Texas Pacific Railroad, for which 



EDUCATION WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 409 

purpose a New York syndicate representing a vast amount of capital 
has signed a contract, will undoubtedly give a great impulse to educa- 
tion and all other enlightening influences in our South-west territory. 



Missouri presents a somewhat anomalous educational record. Her 
school traditions date from her settlement; her governors from 1826 to 
the present time have with great unanimity and earnestness urged upon 
the attention of legislatures the truth that the highest welfare and pros- 
perity of all commonwealths depends upon the education of the masses ; 
a majority of the people are in favor of a high order of public schools, 
but some of the most prominent citizens, especially in the southern por- 
tion of the State, have been opposed to free education, and their influence 
has retarded its progress. So far as the rural districts are concerned, 
Missouri is scarcely in advance of the States immediately to the south, 
while the school system of her metropolis has engaged the attention of 
all educators in the United States and Europe. Indeed, St. Louis, the 
third manufacturing city in the Union and the greatest railroad-centre 
in the world, may justly claim as a third distinction the j>eculiar excel- 
lence of her schools. 

EDUCATION IN THE COUNTIES. 

The defective school law has been the chief disadvantage in the country 
districts. The county commissioners and county clerks must supply the 
statements upon which the Legislature makes up the estimates of appro- 
priations, but county school-accounts are not kept separate from other 
entries, and no one knows or is responsible for the disposition of funds 
drawn out on warrants ; hence the returns from the districts are a con- 
fused mixture of guesses, contradictions, and miscalculations, from which 
it is impossible to deduce any just estimate. A single incident will illus- 
trate the prevailing irregularities. The president of a certain school 
district, in seeking an official statement of the amount of money in hand 
to the credit of his district, insisted that there were thirty dollars more 
than appeared on the official record. A heated controversy ensued. The 
clerk maintained that the record was correct, when the director excitedly 
exclaimed, " I know better, for I've got it in my pocket," and forthwith 
produced the amount, which he had drawn on a warrant against the " in- 
cidental fund " six months before, of course without any legal authority. 
The State has also suffered from the lack of well-trained teachers. As a 
consequence of the improvidence in these respects, there exist only about 



410 THE GREAT WEST. 

three hundred well-organized schools against 9700 at loose ends; but 
fortunately both evils are at present well understood, and judicious efforts 
are in progress for their correction. Normal institutes have been con- 
ducted with great regularity throughout the State since 1876. Five nor- 
mal schools are in operation, besides normal departments in colleges, and 
the results are apparent in the general improvement of instruction in the 
elementary grades. One of the most important normal departments is 
that of Lincoln Institute, at Jefferson City, which fits colored students 
for teachers. 

There is no distinct recognition of high schools in the State law, but 
they exist in some places through the discretionary action of school boards, 
and the Legislature at its last session appropriated $114,000, over and 
above what is expended for high schools in towns and cities, for the sup- 
port of higher education in the State. 

CITY SYSTEMS. 

An examination of the school reports of the large cities shows that 
they are stimulated by the example of St. Louis. Kansas City has been 
particularly active ; in 1867, when the board of education was established, 
there was not a public school building in the city ; now there are nine. 
The course of study is well defined, and embraces seven years, having its 
culmination in the central school, which gives a mathematical course 
through geometry and trigonometry, and a classical course similar in ex- 
tent to that of academies. The enrolment for the last year in the public 
schools of Kansas City was 4612, with an average daily attendance of 
2669. The number of teachers employed was 59, and their salaries 
amounted to $3405 per month. The rate of school tax on the assessed 
valuation of $140,000 was four mills. 

SCHOOLS OF ST. LOUIS. 

The educational history of St. Louis dates from 1817, and is adorned 
with the names of many able men, from Senator T. H. Benton, who was 
a member of the first board, to the present superintendent, W. T. Harris, 
LL.D. To the latter gentleman must be attributed the present superior- 
ity of the St. Louis schools, as well as the influence the city exerts in all 
the current educational movements and discussions. His task has been 
one of unusual difficulty, because the school population increases much 
faster than the income from taxable property. 

In 1838 there were 200 pupils in the free schools, which number had 
increased to 55,995 in 1879, for whose accommodation there were 107 



EDUCATION WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 411 

schools, with a corps of 1056 teachers. The schools ascend by regular 
gradations to the high and normal schools, which fitly complete the series. 
Thirty-four evening schools supply excellent opportunities to young peo- 
ple who work during the day. The experiment of teaching German in 
the day schools has evidently met the approval of a large proportion of 
the parents, nearly one half of the pupils enrolled having taken the 
study. The Public School Library has outgrown its original limits, and 
is now open to the general reader. The value of public-school property 
is $2,821,596 ; the salaries of teachers range from $650 in the lowest 
grade to $2600 for principals of high and normal schools. 

PRIVATE SCHOOLS OF MISSOURI. 

Of the number of pupils enrolled in private schools in Missouri it 
would be impossible to give an estimate ; many such schools, colleges, 
academies, and seminaries are well supported in all parts of the State. 
Nearly all the higher institutions of this class are chartered, and a very 
cordial feeling exists between them and the public schools. One of the 
most important of the recent foundations is Drury College at Springfield, 
occupying a commanding site among the hills of the Ozarks. It is un- 
der Congregational auspices, but allows no effort for the promotion of 
sectarianism. It includes preparatory and collegiate departments, and is 
anticipating a growing want by its arrangements for musical and art 
culture ; it is radically co-educational, and its influence penetrates Ar- 
kansas, Southern Kansas, and the Indian Territory. 

Washington University, at St. Louis, founded in 1853, has recently 
received an endowment fund of $27,000, to be used for the support of a 
system of popular lectures. This university includes a polytechnic school ; 
women are admitted to its privileges. 

STATE UNIVERSITY. 

The Missouri State University was founded on the admission of the 
State by a grant of 40,080 acres of land. The gift of $117,500 by the 
citizens of Boone county secured its location at Columbia. The univer- 
sity campus, upon which the most prominent buildings are grouped, is a 
level tract containing twenty-two acres, laid out with graded walks and 
planted with many varieties of plants and grasses, which greatly enhance 
its natural beauty. The most important structure is the main building. 
This truly imposing piece of architecture is cruciform in shape, of mas- 
sive style, three and a half stories high, and faced by a colonnade vesti- 
bule consisting of six Ionic columns twenty feet in height. The whole 



412 THE GREAT WEST. 

is surmounted by a magnificent dome, which towers upward to the height 
of one hundred feet; from the summit the eye roams over a wide expanse 
of beautiful landscape. This building is occupied by the law, medical, 
and literary societies. The other buildings are — the observatory, which 
contains a fine telescope and other apparatus; the English and art school, 
president's dwelling, and Science Hall, all of which are of pleasing de- 
sign and well adapted to their uses. 

The buildings and grounds of the Agricultural College are situated 
about a mile and a half from the campus. The School of Mines and 
Metallurgy, which is a department of the university, is situated at Rolla, 
Phelps county. 

The university embraces two groups of schools — viz. the academic and 
the professional. 

KANSAS, IOWA, MINNESOTA. 

Kansas, Iowa, and Minnesota may be grouped in a single class with 
reference to education. Their people are a unit on the school question ; 
they believe in the free system of graded schools, forming an unbroken 
chain from the primary class to the university ; in efficient supervision ; 
in special training for teachers ; and in equal school facilities for both 
sexes. They have brought their precedents from the East, but they have 
not been content to remain mere imitators ; there is a spirit in the con- 
duct of the schools, in the public discussion of educational questions, and 
in the ready assimilation of new principles which corresponds to the 
character of the people and stamps the schools as " Western." 

INSTRUCTION OF TEACHERS. 

The teachers' institutes held annually in all the districts are conducted 
with great zeal and intelligence ; the people gather to them in company 
with the teachers and officers, and social cheer sets all hearts aglow with 
enthusiasm for a common interest and with conscious mutual sympathy. 
One of the most frequent topics of discussion is the hygienic relation of 
intellectual pursuits ; it is evident that mens sana in corpore sano is a 
fundamental article in the Western school creed. 

INCREASE OF SCHOOLS. 

Great as is the increase of school population from immigration, school 
accommodations appear to increase proportionately. The primitive log 
school-houses are rapidly being replaced by more pretentious and endur- 
ing structures; thus, in Kansas 3475 frame buildings, 157 of brick, and 



EDUCATION WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 413 

642 of stone, and in Iowa 9596 frame, 650 brick, and 244 of stone, 
attest the progress of architectural reform, leaving only 322 log houses 
as monuments of the historic past. 

The present status of education in these prairie States is perhaps best 
expressed in the following statistical summary of the latest estimates. 

STATISTICAL SUMMARY. 

The legal school age is the same in the three States — viz. five to twen- 
ty-one years. The estimated school population of Kansas is 266,575 ; 
of Iowa, 575,474; of Minnesota, 271,428. The enrolment in the public 
schools of Kansas is 177,806; of Iowa, 428,362; of Minnesota, 167,825. 
The average daily attendance in Kansas is 106,932; in Iowa, 256,913. 
In Kansas there are 5136 public schools, with 6359 teachers; in Iowa, 
10,566 schools, with 13,023 teachers ; in Minnesota, 3280 schools, with 
4872 teachers. The average salaries vary but little ; in Kansas, these 
are for men, $33.68 per month, for women, $27.10 ; in Iowa, for men, 
$33.98, for women, $27.84 ; in Minnesota, for men, $34.65, for women, 
$27.75. The available permanent fund in Kansas is $2,288,391, and the 
estimated eventual amount $10,000,000. In Iowa the available fund is 
$3,468,799 ; in Minnesota, $3,859,964. 

ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES. 

The educational activity thus graphically tabulated is by no means 
confined to the larger towns ; the record of almost any town or county, 
taken at random, epitomizes the entire history as faithfully as a single 
horizon of Prairie-land pictures the characteristics of the illimitable ex- 
pans^. Thus, Monticello in Iowa possessed in 1873 an old wooden 
building in which 238 pupils could be gathered for a promiscuous shoot- 
ing of young ideas ; in 1877 this was replaced by a fine building costing 
$20,000, wherein 480 pupils assembled for the orderly and progressive 
exercises of a graded school. County reports sparkle with such items as 
this from McLeod, Minnesota : " Clerks have learned to make the two 
sides of their financial statements balance ; returns from teachers become 
more explicit and reliable; several new and comfortable school-houses 
have been built, old ones reseated with patent desks, and furnished with 
maps, with the ' Unabridged Dictionary,' even with apparatus ; and the 
school term has been lengthened in the several districts." There are, of 
course, shadows on the picture ; there are districts in which the extreme 
brevity of the school session makes it impossible to secure any other than 
a mere itinerant teacher ; there are log school-houses through which " the 



414 THE GREAT WEST. 

winds of heaven " blow " too roughly •" there are dead, mechanical teach- 
ing, waste of school money, and examiners who decide that a candidate 
will du, and order up a " 'stif kit." Such, however, are exceptions, not 
types. 

PROVISIONS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION. 

It is noticeable also that while elementary schools have been the first 
care of these States, there is no disposition to limit public education to 
the three B/s. At the last session of the Legislature of Minnesota a law 
was passed making provision for higher education substantially as follows : 
Certain public graded schools shall receive four hundred dollars annually 
upon condition of providing instruction in all branches prescribed as 
prerequisites for admission to the collegiate department of the Univer- 
sity of Minnesota. 

In Iowa legal provision is made for the establishment of free county 
high schools in counties having a population of two thousand inhabitants, 
if a majority vote of the electors can be secured. Such schools are to be 
sustained by county taxes not to exceed in one year five mills on the dollar 
of taxable property, including expenses of building, or two mills when 
only teachers' wages and contingent expenses are to be provided for. Up 
to the close of 1878, however, the high school in Guthrie county remained 
the only one. 

In Kansas there are about sixty high schools or higher departments of 
graded schools, of which five are approved by the University of Kansas 
as having courses, English, scientific, or classical, which would entitle 
them to send students to its classes. 

NORMAL DEPARTMENTS. 

Normal schools and normal departments evince the determination of 
the people to have teachers specially prepared for their responsible work. 
Private colleges find it expedient to establish such departments. At Cedar 
Falls, Iowa, there is an efficient State normal school. Kansas established 
a State normal at Emporia four years after its admission as a State. 

The three normals of Minnesota — at Winona, Mankato, and St. Cloud 
— came into existence under the law of 1858 providing for the opening 
of such schools in any community that should donate the sum of five 
thousand dollars for the purpose within certain specified terms. The 
State has made annual appropriations to these, varying from five to ten 
thousand dollars for each. Located almost two hundred miles apart, each 
of these schools has a territory tributary to itself as large as the New 
England States. 



EDUCATION WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 415 



THE STATE UNIVERSITIES. 

Public education is crowned by the State universities. They give force 
and breadth and purpose to intellectual life ; they dignify labor by disclos- 
ing its relations to scientific principles ; and by the instruction and practice 
they afford in agriculture and domestic industries they preclude within 
the range of their influence those perplexing conditions which have en- 
sued where abstract subjects have been the sole concern of the schools. 
Preparatory industrial schools will grow side by side with the feeders of 
the mathematical and classical departments. Having their origin in the 
land act of 1862, the universities have in each instance received liberal 
appropriations from their States. The value of the productive funds of the 
Iowa University is about half a million, and of each of the others about 
$250,000. These universities include preparatory, normal, and collegiate 
courses and a law department. 

The Kansas University occupies a fine building erected by the city of 
Lawrence. It is built of native limestone, and contains fifty-four rooms, 
including a spacious audience-room ninety-four feet by fifty-six. The 
departments of chemistry, physics, natural history, mechanics, engineer- 
ing, and drawing have each a suite of rooms, consisting of a lecture-room, 
a laboratory-room for beginners, a laboratory-room for advanced students, 
and a room for apparatus and consulting library. In the natural history 
rooms there are more than fifty thousand specimens of beasts, birds, in- 
sects, and plants, largely representing the animal and vegetable life of 
the Mississippi Valley, and the cabinets of geology and mineralogy are 
richly furnished. Since the opening of the university 1702 students 
have been enrolled, representing both sexes in nearly equal proportions. 

Domestic economy and industry is made a special feature of the agri- 
cultural department of Iowa University. The college can make the 
proud assertion that " every girl in the junior class has learned how to 
make good bread, weighing and measuring her ingredients, mixing, 
kneading, and baking, and regulating her fire. Each has also been 
taught to make yeast and bake biscuit, puddings, pies, and cakes of vari- 
ous kinds ; how to cook a roast, broil a steak, and make a fragrant cup 
of coffee ; how to stuff and roast a turkey, make oyster soup, prepare 
stock for other soups, steam and mash potatoes so that they will melt 
in the mouth ; and, in short, to get up a first-class meal, combining both 
substantial and fancy dishes in good style. Theory and manual skill 
have gone hand in hand. Vast stores of learning have been accumu- 
lated in the arts of canning, preserving, and pickling fruits, and they 



416 THE GREAT WEST. 

have taken practical lessons in all the details bf household management, 
such as house-furnishing, care of beds and bedding, washing and ironing, 
care of the sick, care of children, etc." Her lady graduates promise to 
meet the ideal of the poet — 

" Creatures not too bright or good " 

for the preparation of 

"Human nature's daily food." 

The Minnesota University, situated at Minneapolis, celebrated the Cen- 
tennial year by the occupation of its new buildings. The library, which 
is the largest in the State, is at length properly accommodated. The 
agricultural department is conducted with great vigor and success, the ex- 
perimental farm and the plant-bouse furnishing abundant opportunity for 
the practical application of those arts which make "joyous harvests." 
While the classical student turns the soft phrases of the Georgics, the ag- 
ricultural student follows their injunctions; he "cuts down reddening 
Ceres in the noontide heat, and in the noontide heat threshes out the 
parched grain ;" " he softens the wild fruits by cultivation, and learns 
the culture proper to each kind." Since 1873 the university has conferred 
degrees on 57 graduates. 

PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 

Private schools have contributed largely to the intellectual progress of 
these communities. In 1878 the total number of children in such schools 
in Minnesota was not less than ten thousand. The proportion appears to 
be nearly the same in Iowa, but is less in Kansas. 

RELIGIOUS EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 

The various religious denominations have been very active in the work. 
Besides many secondary institutions, they support sixteen colleges in Iowa, 
seven in Kansas, and four in Minnesota. Space does not admit a detailed 
account of many of these excellent enterprises, but, as they are similar in 
general purpose, scope, and methods, the character of all is better under- 
stood by the particular description of a few. 

Griswold College, Davenport, Iowa, under Episcopal auspices, has a 
beautiful situation upon an elevated bluff. It has a fine building and 
extensive grounds, and is furnished with a library of six thousand vol- 
umes, with superior philosophical and chemical apparatus and with ex- 
tensive cabinets. It has been in operation twenty years, and has had 



EDUCATION WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 417 

23 graduates in arts, 4 in science, and' 22 in theology. The total of ne- 
cessary expenses in the art or science departments is $181.50, and in the 
theological $125.18 per annum. The bishop of Iowa is ex-officio pres- 
ident of the board of trustees. 

Cornell College, Mount Vernon, Iowa, is a Methodist Episcopal col- 
lege for both sexes. The courses of instruction are extensive, and it en- 
joys a fine patronage. It numbers several ladies in its faculty. 

St, John's Seminary, at St. Joseph, Stearns county, Minnesota, was 
founded in 1857 by members of the Benedictine Order. It has a ro- 
mantic situation on the shores of a limpid lake ; the buildings are massive 
structures of brick and granite. The commercial college is an admirable 
feature of the institution. 

Minnesota Academy, Owatonna, is a centennial offering of the Baptist 
denomination to the cause of Christian education. Its endowment fund 
is $150,000. Though so young an institution, it numbers nearly two hun- 
dred students of both sexes. 

The United Brethren have a flourishing work at Western College, 
Western Iowa, and another at Lecompton, Kansas. 

In addition to the professional training offered by the State University, 
Kansas has departments of theology in two institutions. Iowa has the- 
ology in seven, law in two, medicine in two ; Minnesota has three theo- 
logical schools. Commercial and business schools are reported, indicating 
the growing demand for trained clerks and skilful accountants, as in Dav- 
enport and Dubuque, Topeka, St. Paul, and Minneapolis. 

The columns of the press are freely open for reports of schools and their 
interests, which are thus kept in closest relation with all the vital concerns 
of daily life. 

NEBRASKA. 

The school history of Nebraska is much older than the State. Pre- 
vious to her admission in 1867 there had been an earnest effort to organize 
a system of public schools, and a report of the educational status had been 
published. One hundred and eight public schools had been established, 
about three thousand pupils enrolled, and an attendance of forty-one per 
cent, secured ; the value of the Territorial legacy of school-houses to the 
State was $9,188.22. Private schools did more to give standards and im- 
part an elevated tone to education than the early public schools. 

During the winter of 1866 the citizens of Peru, a small town on the 
Missouri River, sixteen miles below Nebraska City, commenced the en- 
terprise which eventually gave them the State Normal School. They 

27 



418 THE GREAT WEST. 

raised by subscription about eight thousand dollars, and erected a school 
building eighty feet long by forty feet wide, and three stories high. In 
the fall of 1867 this building, with sixty acres of land, was deeded to the 
State, to be used as a State normal school. In the summer of 1866 the 
people of Brownville, and also those of Nebraska City, commenced the 
erection each of a large high-school building. The building at Brown- 
ville cost the city about sixteen thousand dollars, that at Nebraska City 
about thirty thousand dollars. These were the first school buildings of 
any considerable size or value in the State. The school buildings gene- 
rally throughout the Territory were miserable hovels, and their furniture 
was of the plainest kind. In the fall of 1866 a company of those inter- 
ested in the cause of education met at the high-school building in Ne- 
braska City to discuss the important features of a law to be presented to 
the next Legislature. After considering many points, it was agreed to 
call a State educational convention, to meet at Omaha about the time the 
Legislature convened. This convention met pursuant to call January 7, 
1867, and after several days spent in discussion adopted resolutions ask- 
ing the restoration of the school commissioner and county superintend- 
ents, the establishment of a State normal school and a State university, 
and recommending a number of wise provisions that have since been 
adopted. 

At the session of the first State Legislature, held in June, 1867, the 
State Normal School was established, and a grant of 12,800 acres of saline 
lands was made for its future support. The school was commenced Oc- 
tober 24 of the same year. 



PEESENT CONDITION. 

The subsequent record shows steady and uninterrupted progress. In 
1869, Omaha commenced the erection of her high-school building, which 
has since been completed, and is one of the most magnificent in the country. 
Other cities were stimulated by her example, and soon school-house build- 
ing became a mania throughout the State. Nebraska can boast of as many 
fine buildings for her population as any State in the Union. Unfortu- 
nately, however, she has incurred a heavy debt in consequence. Her 
progress has not been limited to the erection of school-houses ; with an 
estimated school population of 86,191, she has 59,966 enrolled in public 
schools; 1468 men engaged in teaching and 1893 women, the former at 
average salaries of $37.14 per month, and the latter, $32.84. Her avail-, 
able school fund is $1,318,044, and prospective permanent fund about 



EDUCATION WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 419 

$15,000,000. There are high schools at Ashland, Beatrice, Brownville, 
Lincoln, Omaha, and Pawnee, and the State Normal School at Peru. 

STATE UNIVERSITY. 

The State University was opened in 1871, and is rapidly developing 
according to the best models. Industrial education has distinct recogni- 
tion in all the educational plans of the State. It would be difficult to 
find a clearer, more explicit, or more pungent discussion of the claims, the 
purposes, and the methods of this important departure in education than 
the address by Prof. S. R. Thompson, delivered at Representative Hall, 
Lincoln, Nebraska, January 22, 1879, which was reported in full in the 
Daily State Journal of the following morning. Its emphatic declaration 
of the necessity of industrial education may be interpreted as an expres- 
sion of the future policy of the State. 

THE TERRITORY BEYOND THE MISSOURI. 

In that immense territory stretching from the Missouri to the Sierra 
Nevadas, where Nature reigns supreme, art and industry and education 
have done little more as yet than to gain a foothold. The scenery and 
hunting-grounds attract an endless stream of tourists and adventurers ; 
the grassy plains, " the veins for silver," and the " places of gold " deter- 
mine the final abodes of the permanent settlers. Wherever a community 
is formed and family life excites the nobler aspirations of the soul, there 
the school springs spontaneously into existence. Denominational and 
private enterprise has given the most positive direction and character to 
the intellectual beginnings, but voluntary school taxes and public schools, 
imperfect and feeble though they may be, show the determination of the 
people to maintain education as a public trust. 

COLORADO. 

Colorado claims the proud distinction of having entered the sisterhood 
of States with a better developed and more liberally supported school 
system than was possessed by any other State at the time of admission 
into the Union. She has a present school population of about twenty 
thousand, more than half of whom are enrolled in the public schools, 
and the average daily attendance is about thirty-three and one-third per 
cent, of the entire number. The funds from the national land grant 
contribute as yet very little to the support of the schools. The average 
school tax sustained by the State is, including general and special taxes, 
five mills on the dollar. 



420 THE GREAT WEST. 

The schools are in their formative period, and their condition and re- 
sults cannot be set forth in any general expression or estimates, excepting 
those of Denver. In this city the schools are classed as primary, gram- 
mar, and high, and all pupils above the third primary grade are allowed 
to study German in addition to the usual English branches. The annual 
expenditures for the Denver schools are about $60,000. 

STATE UNIVERSITY. 
The University of Colorado made a promising beginning in 1877. 
The State Agricultural College, at Fort Collins, and the State School of 
Mines, at Golden, are doing excellent work in preparing students for in- 
telligent efforts in developing the resources of the State. School libraries 
form an important feature of the growing system. 

SALARIES OF TEACHERS. 

Both this State and Nevada occupy a very advanced position with 
reference to the education of women and the justice of paying teachers 
according to the quality and responsibility of their positions, rather than 
according to sex. The average monthly salaries paid to male teachers in 
Colorado is $50 ; to females, $47. About six hundred teachers are em- 
ployed in the public schools. 

NEVADA. 

There is not a town in the State of Nevada in which there is a lack of 
general interest in the public schools, and more money can be raised and 
more interest excited in this than in any other public matter. It has 
been difficult to systematize the work, because the population is so located 
that some districts have a fair school population, while others have but 
four or five children ; hence, so long as the public money was distributed 
among the counties pro rata, it was impossible to secure equal educational 
advantages to all the children. The amended school law directed that 
twenty-five per cent, of all the appropriations from the State and 
county school fund should be apportioned equally to each district for 
every teacher assigned to it, upon the basis of one hundred census chil- 
dren or fraction thereof, and all school moneys remaining on hand after 
apportioning twenty-five per cent, should be divided among the several 
districts in proportion to the number of children from six to eighteen 
years old. In the opinion of the State superintendent the cause of educa- 
tion has been materially advanced by this adjustment. The compulsory 
clause embodied in the school law has proved practically a dead letter. 



EDUCATION WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 421 

The latest financial returns from the various funds — viz. State and gen- 
eral school fund and State university fund — give as the total balances, 
$143,178.34. 

PRESENT CONDITION. 

The specific information given in the last report of the State superin- 
tendent affords the best conception of the position attained. The number 
of children between four and twenty-one years of age is 11,850; the 
number enrolled in public schools is 7612, of whom 296 are below the 
legal age, six to eighteen years; the enrolment in private schools is 1061, 
leaving 1976 between six and eighteen not attending any school. The 
average daily attendance in the public schools is 4666 ; average duration 
of the schools is seven months and thirteen days. The schools are class- 
ified as 97 primary, 11 intermediate, 54 ungraded, 18 grammar, and 5 
high. The number of male teachers is 45, at an average salary of $106 ; 
of female teachers, 124, at an average salary of $84 per month. Of the 
sixteen new school-houses erected during the past two years, the most 
expensive are at Gold Hill and Elko. 

teachers' institutes. 
The first session of the State Teachers' Institute of Nevada was held 
at the Capitol, in Carson City, April 22, 1878. The interest in it is 
shown by the fact that although the expenses exceeded the $100 allowed, 
the balance was easily made up by the commissioners of Storey and 
Ormsby counties and by citizens. 

STATE UNIVERSITY. 

The university provided for by law, and established in its preparatory 
department, still awaits the fuller development which in a State with 
a vast territory and a sparse, unsettled population must come by slow 
degrees. 

DAKOTA, MONTANA, IDAHO, WYOMING, AND WASHINGTON TERRITORIES. 

In the Territories ranging along the northern line of the country, edu- 
cation shows beginnings similar to those from which have grown the 
results particularized in the States farther east. Yankton, Dakota, has a 
good graded system in operation ; in Idaho private schools are at present 
the main dependence. Montana makes very liberal appropriations for 
school purposes, and has some excellent school-houses built — notably, one 
<*t Bozeman and one at Butte, costing in the aggregate $25,000. Deer 



422 THE GREAT WEST. 

Lodge county leads the State, the citizens having subscribed $18,000, 
effected an organization, chosen trustees, selected a site, and commenced 
the building for a collegiate institute. The Legislature of Washington 
Territory has appropriated $1500 annually for two years for a univer- 
sity, and created forty-five free scholarships in the same. There is a Ro- 
man Catholic college at Vancouver. Cheyenne and Laramie, Wyoming, 
have each a costly and commodious school building, and the schools that 
exist are reported to be in excellent condition. A compulsory law is in 
force, and a wise provision has been made for creating school libraries by 
authorizing the qualified electors of a district to vote a sum not exceed- 
ing one hundred dollars annually for the purchase of books. 

NEW MEXICO AND ARIZONA. 

The Territories on the southern line, New Mexico and Arizona, repre- 
sent the opposite extreme. Colorado College is favorably situated for the 
work of education in this section. It occupies a commanding position in 
that great block of territory comprising Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, 
and Arizona, exceeding by fifty thousand square miles the extent of the 
thirteen original States. On the south is a mixed population of ten thou- 
sand Americans, twenty thousand Indians, and one hundred thousand 
Mexicans. The dearth of educational facilities in this immense region 
is scarcely credible. Large and populous villages are wholly destitute of 
schools, communities with a population of a thousand souls have perhaps 
two months' schooling in the year, and even at that many teachers em- 
ployed can scarcely read and write. Adverse influences are insidiously 
working to secure control of educational interests. To the west is polyg- 
amy, antagonizing all that is best in American liberty and all that is 
purest in society. This college has pushed into the field by establishing 
schools auxiliary to the college at Santa Fe and Salt Lake City. The 
work of the college proper is wisely adapted to the wants and the special 
resources of its section. It comprehends at present three general courses 
of study — viz. English and normal course, preparatory classical course, 
and the college course proper. As it has been made a station of the 
United States Signal Service, students from the higher classes are formed 
into a corps for the study of meteorology and for practice in the use of 
instruments according to the regulations of the Signal Service. The 
price of tuition has been placed at twenty-five dollars a year, with the 
design of making the college practically free to all. 

The ignorance of the Mexicans reflects little credit upon the Catholic 
system of education which has developed in New Mexico and Arizona 



EDUCATION WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 423 

without " let or hinderance." These two Territories, together with Col- 
orado, belong to the Church province of Santa Fe. The Las Vegas 
College is the centre of the Jesuitical influence, and Santa Fe a great 
stronghold of the Church. In the " Sodality of the Young Ladies of 
the Cathedral " the daughters of the rich traders and planters are taught 
Spanish and Ave Marias and the Church legends and St. Cecilia's art 
and fancy-work, while their brothers learn the humanities and kindred 
lore of the Middle Ages in the " Sodality of the Boys." The mission- 
stations, scattered here and there in sunny valleys, add picturesque effect 
to the landscape, but, it is to be feared, diffuse an enervating influence on 
the social forces. In these quaint, isolated retreats some zealous priests 
have doubtless lived and wrought, whose memories are as fragrant as the 
flowers that grow in luxuriant profusion in the gardens which they tended 
with more success than they did those immortal powers which they pro- 
fessed to cultivate. The life, the pursuits, the education represented in 
each and all of these establishments are at variance with the age and 
the country, and must fade into oblivion before the advancing power of 
earnest, practical modern education. 

UTAH. 

The Utah school department has been, until very recently, one of the 
Mormon close-corporation affairs which an unbeliever might not scruti- 
nize too closely. But the Gentile population having at last reached a large 
minority, Gentile pluck and enterprise have established a claim upon the 
school fund, and are resolute to divert at least a fair proportion of the 
public moneys to the interests of civilization and decency. About ten 
years ago the prominent Christian sects began their mission-work in 
Utah, and though all schools independent of " the Church " have to en- 
dure the anathemas and slurs and violent opposition of the hierarchy, 
there are twenty-five schools maintaining under denominational auspices 
the cause of Christian education. Six are Methodist, five Episcopal, 
twelve Presbyterian, and two Catholic. They enrol about two thousand 
pupils and own seventy thousand dollars' worth of school property. 
Besides the 327 district schools reported, there are Deseret University, 
the Brigham Young Academy, the academy at Provo, one at St. George, 
and about twenty-five other private schools in good and regular standing 
with the " Mormon Church." No effort will be spared to rescue the 
public schools from the degrading influence of Mormonism, and to ad- 
vance them to an equality with the schools of the East. The note of 
warning sounded to the priesthood through the papers, the business 



424 THE GREAT WEST. 

unions, the churches, and the schools of the Gentiles is, " We are here, 
and we have come to stay." 

INDIAN TERRITORY. 

The provisions for education in Indian Territory make the one bright 
page in the dark record of our Indian policy. The school facilities in 
that Territory and other Indian reservations are presented in the follow- 
ing extracts from the reports of the Indian Bureau : 

" SCHOOLS. 

School buildings on Indian reservations 366 

Boarding-schools on Indian reservations 60 

Day schools 270 

696 

" TEACHERS. 

Men teaching among the Indians 200 

Women teaching 237 

4~37 



INCOME AND EXPENDITURE. 



Received from government, $209,337 ; tribal funds, $81,989 ; 

other sources, $46,053 $337,379 

Expended for salaries, $194,413; other expenses, $142,966. . 337,379 

"SCHOOLS OF THE FIVE NATIONS. 

"As far as can be ascertained from the records of the Indian Office, the 
schools of the nations inhabiting the Indian Territory are substantially 
as reported in 1876 — namely, among the Cherokees, 75 common schools, 
held for ten months in the year, with two commodious schools of higher 
grade, a manual-labor school, and an orphan asylum ; among the Creeks, 
28 public day-schools, 2 manual-labor schools, and 5 mission boarding- 
schools, besides provision for educating eighteen young men in the schools 
of the States ; among the Choctaws, 54 day schools, 1 boarding-school 
with about 50 pupils, and several private schools sustained by tuition fees ; 
among the Chickasaws, 13 district common schools and 4 high schools ; 
among the Seminoles, 5 ordinary schools and 1 academy or boarding- 
school, under the supervision of the Presbyterian Board of Home Mis- 
sions. 

"Among the Cherokees, and probably among the others, no person can 
be employed to teach a public school without passing a satisfactory exam- 



EDUCATION WEST OF THE 3IISSISS1PPL 425 

ination before an examining board, and producing a certificate of qualifi- 
cation based upon the result of such an examination." 

These extracts are given thus fully to redeem, so far as they may, our 
national reputation from that blemish which has been incurred by our 
many and flagrant oppressions of this unhappy people. 

OREGON. 

When we consider that California has developed on the Pacific coast a 
school system not inferior to that which is the pride of the Atlantic States, 
we are not surprised to find in the neighboring State of Oregon abun- 
dant educational promise. The condition of elementary instruction is 
affected by the obstacles incident to a new country, but progress is there 
assured by the school law and by public enthusiasm. 

PRACTICAL EDUCATION. 

Normal and industrial education are at present subjects earnestly dis- 
cussed in popular assemblies and in the daily papers. In a recent address 
of the Oregon State Teachers' Association to the people of Oregon the 
importance of establishing three normal schools in the State was urged, 
and it was determined that meanwhile there should be held annually 
county teachers' institutes for the encouragement and instruction of 
teachers. 

CITY SCHOOLS. 

Portland and Salem can show many excellent graded schools. 

PARK SCHOOL, PORTLAND. 

The Park school-house recently erected in the former city is a model 
of beauty and convenience. The building is one hundred and forty feet 
long and ninety feet wide, and two stories high above the basement. 
There are twelve rooms, six in each story. In the north and south 
divisions of the building, in both stories, are suites of two rooms con- 
nected by sliding doors, each room twenty-eight by thirty-six feet, and 
sixteen feet high. In the centre are two rooms on each floor of the same 
size as the former. Two halls, sixteen feet wide, run through the edifice 
east and west, and are connected at the centre by a cross-hall sixteen feet 
wide, the whole forming a letter H. Four broad stairways with easy 
ascents lead to the second story. On one facade extend two massive 
porches, from each of which a broad stairway leads to the basement. 



426 THE GREAT WEST. 

Cloak- and wash-rooms and an office and library complete the accommo- 
dations. The entire finish of the building is of finest Oregon ash ; the 
stairways are of ash; the rails and posts of walnut; the deadened floors 
are of fir, and the doors are of red cedar. The ventilation of the building 
will be perfect by reason of the arrangement of the windows and the 
introduction of ventilating-shafts. The cost will be about twenty-four 
thousand dollars. 

THE UNIVERSITIES. 

Oregon University held its second commencement June 19, 1879, 
graduating a class of three lady and three gentleman students. It is on 
the plan of the State universities already described ; its total receipts from 
all sources for the year 1879 were $9772.50, and total expenditures 
$8317.03. The university was located at Eugene City in consideration 
of that city's furnishing suitable grounds and building. The cost of the 
latter when completed will be upward of seventy-five thousand dollars. 
The State Agricultural College at Corvallis is doing a fine work in scien- 
tific and industrial branches. 

Willamette University, Salem, has a medical department, which is the 
only professional school in the State. 

CALIFORNIA. 

The ordinary student of geography learns to regard California, by 
virtue of her climate, her scenery, her exuberant vegetation, and the ex- 
haustless treasures of her mines, as one of the wonders of the modern 
world. The stories of her business enterprise and facilities, and of her 
" bonanza princes," are as dazzling as the splendors of an Arabian tale, 
but, happily, the development of moral and intellectual conditions among 
her people has not been paralyzed or eclipsed by this unwonted material 
prosperity. We are not left to conjectural estimates for knowledge of 
her school interests, since the candor and accuracy of the State and city 
reports on this subject are quite as marked as any feature of her educa- 
tional history. 

Since 1855 the number of her public schools has increased from 227 
to 2743 ; of her census children, from 26,077 to 216,404 ; of the number 
in attendance upon public schools, from 13,000 to 144,806 ; and the 
amount paid by the State to teachers, from $181,906 to $2,285,733. 

For a better understanding of her present position it would be necessary 
to consider certain comparisons between this and other States, keeping in 
mind that California is four years younger than any of the other States 
referred to, excepting in connection with the first item. 



EDUCATION WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 427 

A majority of the States afford from fifteen to seventeen years' tuition 
in the public schools ; the lowest limit is in Massachusetts and Rhode 
Island — viz. ten years. California furnishes twelve years'. In the 
average duration of school days to the year she ranks as the seventh 
State; in proportion of money expended per capita to daily average 
attendance, as the fourth. In no other State are teachers so well paid as 
here, and so justly according to service, the average salary per month for 
male teachers being $84.93; for female teachers, $68.01. 

EXPENDITURES. 

Since 1852, the year of the first State school tax, the people of Cali- 
fornia have devoted to the cause of public education, in money — 

For public schools, about $33,743,819.84 

" State Normal school, about 566,600.00 

" State University, " 4,150,000.00 

The sources from whence the expenditures are met are the interest on the 
permanent fund and taxation. The former affords but a very small pro- 
portion of the entire amount, as will be seen from the following state- 
ments: The total cost of the schools for the year ending June 30, 1877, 
was $2,749,729, of which sum about $2,400,000 was raised by taxation 
— viz. $1,260,000 by State tax, and the remainder by county, city, and 
district taxes. The proportions are about the same for 1878 and 1879. 
The tax levied in 1878 for the general fund for the current fiscal year, 
out of which are defrayed all the expenses of the executive, legislative, 
and judicial branches of the government, was $1,320,000, or $1,080,000 
less than the tax cited above. The people evince no disposition to curtail 
the school appropriation, but they are determined to have it managed on 
the strict business principle of adequate returns for the investment. 

NEW SCHOOL LAW. 

The educational clause of the new constitution, ratified by the people 
May 7, 1879, makes some changes which have been the subject of in- 
tense discussion. The most radical of these is that which relegates to 
local boards the determination of the qualification of teachers and the 
selection of textbooks — a virtual abandonment of the " State system " — 
and the section regulating the status of high schools. The latter is so 
pertinent to that "high-school question" over which newspapers, maga- 
zines, and conventions have been waxing warm and furious that we quote 
it in full : " The public-school system shall include primary and grammar 
schools, and such high schools, evening schools, normal schools, and 



428 THE GREAT WEST. 

technical schools as may be established by the Legislature or by municipal 
or district authority ; but the entire revenue derived from the State 
school fund and the State school tax shall be applied exclusively to the 
support of primary and grammar schools." Thus in one comprehensive 
act California has settled for a time her policy with reference to the most 
distracting of the debatable issues in public education. 

SUPERVISION. 

It is very largely to an efficient system of supervision and the character 
of the men who have held the trust that California owes the progress of 
her schools, particularly in the rural districts. The State and county 
superintendents have been united in their support of the normal schools 
and in untiring efforts to render the teachers' institutes held in the several 
counties popular and efficient. 

NORMAL SCHOOL. 

The State Normal School was established in 1861 at San Francisco, and 
moved in 1872 to San Jose, where a magnificent building had been erected 
for its accommodation at a cost of $250,000. It has an excellent library 
and a rapidly-increasing natural-history collection. Five hundred and 
fifty teachers have graduated at this school, of whom a large proportion 
are now teaching in the State. The number of pupils for 1879-80 is 
548. The faculty consists of nineteen professors and instructors. The 
annual appropriation for its support is about $33,000. 

THE UNIVERSITY. 

In 1853, Henry Durant, a graduate and ex-tutor of Yale College, 
opened a " college school " in Oakland, which grew into the College of 
California. After the acceptance by the State Legislature of the national 
grant of 1862, the property of the college was offered to the State for 
the proposed institution, and the college merged into the University of 
California. 

The university has reached the ideal standard of its projectors, having 
full departments of law and medicine, courses in colleges of agriculture, 
mechanics, and engineering, and affiliated colleges of dentistry and phar- 
macy. The foundation of an art college has been laid in the gift of an 
art collection, with $25,000 in money, to which the State has added an 
equal sum. Additional donations are the property of the Toland Medical 
College, given by Dr. Toland ; the endowment of the law college by 
Judge Hastings, and of the dental college by Dr. Cogswell. 



EDUCATION WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 429 

The members of the several faculties are men of ability, and include 
the names of several gentlemen who have brought European reputations 
as teachers and scientists to this new field. 

PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 

The percentage of children attending private schools has naturally de- 
creased with the progress of the public schools, but they have steadily 
improved in character, and many of them reflect an honor upon the State 
of which she is justly proud. The enrolment in private schools for 1879 
was 15,432. In the last report of the California School Board twenty- 
five of these are specially mentioned, of which the most noted are Santa 
Clara College, under the exclusive control of the Jesuit Fathers ; the 
Pacific Methodist College, at Santa Rosa, co-educational, as are all under 
that denomination, and conducted upon the broadest and most liberal 
basis of general usefulness ; and Mills Seminary, at Brooklyn, Alameda 
county, which ranks with the best modern colleges for the higher educa- 
tion of women. The Kindergarten School at Berkeley, established by 
Miss Emma Marwedel, is a favorite institution, and from it have origin- 
ated other flourishing schools of the kind, as well as a widespread interest 
in the character and purposes of the training. 

SCHOOLS OF SAN FRANCISCO. 

According to the latest estimates, San Francisco is the sixth city of the 
United States in estimated school population, in the number of teachers 
employed in the public schools, and in enrolment and average attendance 
in the same, the enrolment for 1879 being 38,129, and the average daily 
attendance 27,075. There are in the city 60 public schools — viz. 2 high, 
15 grammar, 38 primary, and 5 evening — employing 696 teachers, at 
salaries ranging from $600 to $4000 per year, the average monthly 
salary paid to male teachers in the schools being $155; to female 
teachers, $82. 

There are school libraries in connection with 42 of the schools, contain- 
ing 12,717 volumes, valued at $9302.59. The total expenditure for the 
schools for the year ending June 30, 1879, was $876,489.14, or sixteen 
per cent, of the total expenses of the city. 

The year 1879 was one of great interest in the history of San Francisco 
schools, the cost of their maintenance having been made one of the 
issues in the political contest, and the investigation of the examination 
frauds has been for many months the chief public sensation. The re- 
sult of the exposi was an entire change in the system of examining 



430 THE GREAT WEST. 

teachers throughout the State — a change embodied in the educational 
article of the new constitution. 

There is a normal class in connection with the Girls' High School, but 
as yet no city normal school. The substitute teachers form an important 
class in the corps of instructors. The Board of Education employs 
twenty-four such to take charge of the classes of absent teachers. 
They report every morning at the central office, and if detailed for 
duty are paid by the day from $2 to $6 ; if detained at the office to 
await orders, they receive $1.50 per day. 

Four grammar and three primary schools are classed as cosmopolitan, 
because instruction is given in them in German and French besides the 
usual English course; there are also "foreign classes" in certain of the 
schools in which non-English-speaking children are taught the English 
language. Seven music and four drawing teachers complete the special 
provisions comprehended in the system. The evening schools afford by 
the ordinary courses and the special classes in drawing and bookkeeping 
superior opportunities to young artisans and clerks. A Chinese school, 
organized in 1859, was discontinued in 1871, from the failure of the 
Chinese to appreciate the boon. 

This brief outline of public education in the Pacific metropolis is suf- 
ficient to show the magnitude and efficiency of the system, and the intel- 
ligent effort made to adapt it to every class and condition of society, and 
the liberal appropriations for its support. 

INSTITUTIONS FOE THE DEAF AND DUMB AND FOR THE BLIND. 

Ill our review of the' condition of education west of the Mississippi 
mention has scarcely been made of one of the most remarkable features 
of the great work. Eleven of the twelve States enumerated maintain 
public institutions for the deaf and dumb and for the blind ; nor are 
these regarded as charities, but as an essential part of the grand scheme 
for securing to every child of the republic that education which is 
the best preparation for citizenship and the best guarantee of national 
prosperity. 



*w^ 



NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 

BY A. B. MEACHAM, EDITOR OF "THE COUNCIL FIRE." 



WHEN America was first discovered, Columbus and others who fol- 
lowed him supposed they had touched on the eastern coast of 
India, and hence the aboriginal inhabitants whom they found were called 
Indians. After the error was discovered the name given to the natives 
was retained. 

The first permanent European settlement within the present limits of 
the United States was made in Virginia. At that time the leading traits 
and characteristics of the Indians were much the same as those manifested 
among the uncivilized Indians of our own times. Of all races who were 
barbarians, of whom we have any knowledge, they have in their nomadic 
state changed least. 

RELIGION OF THE INDIANS. 

The wild Indians believe in a Great Spirit ; the tribes live in a state 
of polytheism ; they have a mythology of their own, which, when ap- 
plied to matter and spirit, is remarkable for its variety. To this theory 
or creed they refer at all times and under all circumstances. They hear 
the Great Spirit in the wind ; they see Him in the clouds. At one time 
they fear and at another adore Him ; and thus they make gods of the 
elements. The mysterious power of this Great Spirit is ever present, 
and in a double form. There is a benign and a malign type of this 
Spirit, and a continued strife for mastery between these antagonistic 
powers as to which shall have the control over the mind. Nature is full 
of minor spirits that attend both the benign and malign type. " When 
the eye fails to recognize them in material forms they are revealed in 
dreams. Necromancy and witchcraft are two of their ordinary powers. 
They can in a twinkling transform men and animals. False hopes and 
fears, which the Indian believes to be true, spring up on every side. His 

431 



432 THE GREAT WEST. 

notions of the spirit-world exceed all belief, and the mind of the untu- 
tored Indian is thus made the victim of wild mystery, unending suspicion, 
and paralyzing fear. Nothing could make him more truly a wild man. 

" It is a religion of woods and wilds, and involves the ever-varying 
and confused belief in spirits and demons, gods of the water and gods 
of the rocks, and in every imaginable creation of the air, the ocean, the 
earth, and the sky — of every possible power, indeed, which can produce 
secret harm or generate escape from it. Not to suffer with the (wild) 
Indian is to enjoy. Not to be in misery from these unnumbered hosts is 
to be blest." * 

ORIGIN OF THE INDIAN RACE. 

The most ancient history is silent as to the origin of the aboriginal 
race of North America. It is clearly of a very old stock. Many theo- 
ries have been suggested by writers on this subject; almost every one has 
had something to offer concerning the origin of the primitive inhabitants 
of this country. But none have produced anything definite. There has 
been much speculation, not only as to the particular branch of the human 
family from which the American Indians were extracted, but as to the 
means by which they were transplanted from the Old to the New World. 
The Indians themselves could give no satisfactory information as to the 
origin of the race, or from whence and at what time it was transplanted 
to America. Some said their ancestors came from the North, others said 
they came from the West, others from the East, while some said they 
came from under the earth, and others from the regions of the air. We 
should not deduce from the ignorance of the Indians on this vital ques- 
tion their lack of intelligence in affairs generally, any further than what 
might be naturally expected as a result of their peculiar situation and 
surroundings. 

In a general way, the primitive Indians spoke of a great deluge that 
occurred at some ancient epoch, and which covered the earth and drowned 
mankind except a limited number. They also spoke emphatically of a 
future state, and in a confused way of rewards and punishments in that 
state, and which were frequently allegorically represented. 

THE BEGINNING OF THE GREAT CONFLICT BETWEEN THE RACES. 

There is one fact in which there is agreement in all the early annals ; 
and that is, that the first explorers and colonists who came to the " New 
World " were met by the native inhabitants in the most friendly manner, 
and such rude hospitalities as they possessed were freely extended to the 

* Schoolcraft. 



NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 433 

strangers. The adventurers, whether Spanish, French, Dutch, or Eng- 
lish, did not reciprocate the confidence and goodwill of the natives. They 
were from the very beginning exacting, overbearing, and distrustful. 
Indeed, they frequently acted like demi-savages toward such Indians as 
were in their power ; and very soon the voyagers on their return trips 
began to carry off the natives, who were forcibly seized for that purpose, 
and many of whom they sold as slaves. Such conduct was calculated to, 
and did, destroy the confidence and goodwill of the Indians, and in time 
these friendly feelings gave place to distrust, hatred, and revenge. For 
wrongs and injuries done them the Indians retaliated. Their modes of 
warfare were barbarous. In these, however, they did not excel the Eu- 
ropeans, who in the conflicts that followed were even more barbarous 
than the native savages. These conflicts have continued from generation 
to generation even until the present period. 

THE NUMBER OF INDIANS THEN AND NOW. 

Some writers have held that at the time of the discovery by Columbus 
the native inhabitants in North America were very numerous. There is 
no trustworthy information on which to base this opinion. The savages 
were wild men, living chiefly by hunting and fishing. Some tribes, in 
addition to the support thus obtained, did raise in limited quantities 
maize, beans, and pumpkins, and in certain localities gathered wild rice 
and roots. The tribes were generally predatory, and may be said to have 
had no settled homes. Those in the vicinity of the buffalo-herds fol- 
lowed them, and were essentially meat-eaters. Instead of being numer- 
ous, the Indian population was sparse and dispersed over a vast country. 
Their arms were the bow and arrow, the war-club and spear. Such as 
cultivated vegetables in limited quantities had the rudest kind of imple- 
ments of husbandry as well as habitations. Their shifting villages each 
had its chiefs, and not unfrequently a number of villages in the same 
region had a sort of confederacy, with superior chiefs exercising author- 
ity over all. In their intercourse the inhabitants of the village or vil- 
lages were on the most friendly terms. They rarely had any disputes. 
Their principal subjects of conversation were such as grew out of their 
tribal affairs and hunting and fishing. As a rule, when one spoke none 
interrupted him. Visitors were cheerfully received, and when a stranger 
took refuge among them it was an unalterable rule, a duty, to extend 
hospitality to him. To refuse succor or relief was a grave offence. No 
profane language was used. The wardrobe of the primitive Indian was 
scanty and made of the skins of animals. 



434 THE GREAT WEST. 

In brief, such were the natives and their condition on and adjacent to 
the Atlantic seaboard at the time the first Europeans became their 
neighbors. As the Indians observed the ways and manners of the 
colonists, they were free to admit that the latter had some advantages 
over them in that they were possessed of the arts, but thought it strange 
that the white man should submit himself to laborious employments ; and 
they were unwilling to exchange their modes of living for such as were 
introduced among them by the colonists. Indeed, they claimed that it 
was not in accordance with the design of the Great Spirit that they should 
do so. And they held stoutly that in their moral conduct they were 
superior to the refinements which the Europeans brought with them. 

INTRODUCTION OF EUROPEAN LAWS. 

In the attempt to found colonies in North America as well as other 
newly-discovered countries it was held by the Christian states of Europe 
that the newly-discovered country belonged to the sovereign whose sub- 
jects made the discovery, and that while exceptions might be made in 
favor of the native inhabitants who were Christians, such as were not 
Christians were regarded as proper subjects not only for conquest, but 
for plunder. In the contest for dominion in North America the Eu- 
ropean nations held that the Indian was a proper subject for plunder, 
and that it was right to seize his lands and dispossess him of his birth- 
right. These nations introduced their own maxims, which recognized 
fraud and force as perfectly legitimate in the acquisition of territory. 

The example set by the European states after founding their colonies 
in North America in dealing with the Indians was pursued by the colonies 
after they became independent, and the United States followed the same 
line of policy. In discussing the question in 1826 the Secretary of War 
said officially — 

" From the first discovery of America to the present time one master- 
passion, common to all mankind, that of acquiring land, has driven, in 
ceaseless succession, the white man on the Indian. The latter, reluctantly 
yielding to a force he could not resist, has retired from the ocean to the 
mountains, and from the mountains to more inhospitable recesses, wasting 
away by suffering and wars, foreign and intestine, till a wretched frag- 
ment only survives of the numerous hordes once inhabiting this country, 
whose portion it is to brood in grief over their past misfortunes or to look 
in despair upon the approaching catastrophe of their impending doom. 
.... In the contest for dominion the milder qualities of justice and 
clemency were disregarded. But that contest has long since ceased in 



NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 435 

the United States, where on the one side are seen a great people, familiar 
with arts and arms, whose energies are increased by union and directed 
by an efficient government ; on the other a few ignorant and divided tribes 
of barbarians. It is necessary for the former only to express its will to 
receive or enforce immediate submission from the latter. The suggestions 
of policy should no longer stifle the claims of justice and humanity. It 
is now, therefore, that a most solemn question addresses itself to the 
American people — one whose answer is full of responsibility. Shall we 
go quietly on in a course which, judging from the past, threatens their 
extinction, while their past sufferings and future prospects so pathetically 
appeal to our compassion ? The responsibility to which I refer is what 
a nation owes to itself, to its future character in all time to come. For 
next to the means of self-defence and the blessings of free government 
stands in point of importance the character of a nation. Its distinguish- 
ing characteristics should be justice and moderation — to spare the weak 

its brightest ornament It is the province of History to transmit 

in its pages the transactions of nations. Posterity look to this depository 
with the most intense interest. The fair fame of their ancestors, a most 
precious heritage, is to them equally a source of pride and a motive of 
continued good action. But she performs her province with impartiality. 
The authority she exercises in the absence of others is a check on bad 
rule. The tyrant and the oppressor see in the character of their proto- 
types the sentence posterity is preparing for them. Which side of the 
picture shall we elect ? For the decision is left to ourselves. Shall the 
record transmit the present race to future generations as standing by in- 
sensible to the progress of desolation which threatens the remnant of this 
people ? or shall these unfriendly characters give place to a generous effort 
which shall have been made to save them from destruction ? While de- 
liberating on this solemn question I would appeal to that high Provi- 
dence, whose delight is justice and mercy, and take counsel from the 
oracles of His will, revealed to man in His terrible denunciation 
against the oppressor. 

" In reviewing the past, justice requires that the humane attempts of 
the Federal government, coeval with its origin, should receive an hon- 
orable notice. That they have essentially failed the sad experience of 
every day but too strongly testifies. If the original plan, conceived in 
the spirit of benevolence, had not been fated to encounter that as yet un- 
abated desire to bereave them of their lands, it would perhaps have real- 
ized much of the hopes of its friends. So long, 'however, as that desire 
continues to direct our councils every effort must fail. A cursory review 



436 THE GREAT WEST. 

is all that is necessary to show the incongruity of the measures we have 
pursued, and the cause of their failure. Missionaries are sent among 
them to enlighten their minds by imbuing them with religious impres- 
sions. Schools have been established, by the aid of private as well as 
public donations, for the instruction of their youths. They have been 
persuaded to abandon the chase — to locate themselves and become culti- 
vators of the soil. Implements of husbandry and domestic animals have 
been presented to them. And all these things have been done, accom- 
panied with professions of disinterested solicitude for their happiness. 
Yielding to these temptations, some of them have reclaimed the forest, 
planted their orchards, and erected houses, not only for their abode, but 
for the administration of justice and for religious worship. And when 
they have done so you send your agent to tell them they mast surrender 
their country to the white man, and recommit themselves to some new 
desert, and substitute as the means of their subsistence the precarious 
chase for the certainty of cultivation. 

LOVE OF NATIVE LAND. 

" No man is devoid of this natural affection, whether he roams the 
wilderness or is found in the highest state of civilization. This attach- 
ment increases with the comforts of our country, and is strongest when 
these comforts are the fruits of our own exertions. Can it be matter of 
surprise that the Indians hear with unmixed indignation of what seems 
to them our ruthless purpose of expelling them from their country, thus 
endeared ? They see that our professions are insincere — that our prom- 
ises have been broken — that the happiness of the Indian is a cheap sacri- 
fice to the acquisition of more lands ; and when attempted to be soothed 
by the assurance that the country to which we propose to send them is 
desirable, they emphatically ask us, ' "What new pledges can you give us 
that we shall not again be exiled when it is your wish to possess these 
lands ?' It is easier to state than to answer this question. A regard for 
consistency, apart from any other consideration, requires a change of 
measures. Either let the Indian retain and enjoy his home, or, if he is 
to be driven from it, abstain from cherishing illusions we mean to disap- 
point, and thereby make him to feel more sensibly the extent of his loss." 

By the compact between the United States and the State of Georgia, 
entered into in 1802, the former covenanted that as soon as it could be 
done peaceably and on reasonable terms the title of the Cherokee In- 
dians to land within the limits of the latter should be extinguished. 
During the administration of President Monroe the State of Georgia 



NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 437 

became clamorous and demanded that the Indians should be removed 
from within her territorial limits in fulfilment of the covenants of the 
compact of 1802. Other States, both in the South and the West, were 
impatient to have the native population within their limits removed. 
Hence, Mr. Monroe in a message to Congress submitted a proposition for 
the removal of all the Indian tribes from the lands then occupied by 
them within the several States and organized Territories east of the Mis- 
sissippi, to the country west of that river. He said in the message that 
" experience had demonstrated that in their present state it is impossible 
to incorporate them in such masses, in any form whatever, into our sys- 
tem. It has," said he, "been demonstrated with equal certainty that 
without a timely anticipation of, and provision against, the dangers to 
which they are exposed, under causes which it will be difficult if not im- 
possible to control, their degradation and extermination will be inevitable. 
The great object to be accomplished is the removal of those tribes to the 
territory designated on conditions which shall be satisfactory to them- 
selves and honorable to the United States. This can be done by convey- 
ing to each tribe a good title to an adequate portion of land to which it 
may consent to remove, and providing for it there a system of internal 
government which shall protect its property from invasion, and by reg- 
ular progress of improvement and civilization prevent that degeneracy 
which has generally marked the transition from one to the other state." 
It was when discussing this scheme for the removal of the Indian 
tribes then dwelling on the east side of the Mississippi River to the west 
side of the same, that the Secretary of War in 1826 used the language 
quoted herein, and preceding that quoted from the message of President 
Monroe. The Secretary in his report, which was exhaustive, suggested 
many difficulties, and feared that should the removal be made it would 
not be effective, since he thought " the same propensity which had con- 
ducted the white population to the remote regions they (the Indians) 
now occupy will continue to propel the tide till it is arrested only by the 
distant shores of the Pacific." Notwithstanding his doubts, such was the 
pressure for the removal of the Indians to the west of the Mississippi 
that the Secretary of War submitted a plan and prepared a bill for the 
consideration of Congress, providing for this measure. The main fea- 
tures of this bill were — that the country west of the Mississippi to which 
the tribes should be removed was to be set apart for the exclusive abode 
of the Indians ; that they be removed as individuals or families in con- 
tradistinction to tribes; and, if circumstances should eventually justify 
it, the tribal relation should be dissolved, and the Indians amalga- 



438 THE GREAT WEST. 

mated in one common mass, with a distribution of property among the 
individuals. 

ESTABLISHING A PERMANENT HOME FOE THE INDIANS. 

In May, 1830, Congress passed a law authorizing the President to cause 
the territory west of the Mississippi to which the original title had been 
extinguished, and which was not included within the limits of any State 
or organized Territory, to be divided into a suitable number of districts 
for the reception of such tribes or nations of Indians as might choose to 
exchange the lands on which they then resided and to remove West. 
The law authorized the President to solemnly assure the Indian tribes 
with whom the exchange was made that the United* States would for ever 
secure and guarantee to them and their heirs or successors the country so ex- 
changed with them. In pursuance of this law, the Creeks, Cherokees, 
Choctaws, Chickasaws, Seminoles, Delawares, Shawnees, Miamis, Kick- 
apoos, Pottawattamies, Chippewas of Roche de Bceuf, Sacs and Foxes, 
Wees, Piankashaws, Kaskaskias, Peorias, and other tribes, were removed. 
These tribes were each and all guaranteed, and the faith of the nation 
solemnly pledged to them, that the homes to which they were severally 
removed should be to them and their posterity their permanent homes for 
ever ; and many of them had in the most solemn form the pledge of the 
government that the land granted to them west of the Mississippi should 
never be embraced within the limits of any organized Territory or State. 
Except the tracts granted to the Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, 
and Seminoles, the tribes that were transplanted were located within the 
present limits of the State of Kansas. Since the organization of that 
State all these emigrated tribes, except a few hundred Pottawattamies 
and Kickapoos and some sixty Chippewa and Munsee Indians, have been 
" bereaved of their lands " and removed from their " permanent homes," 
and now dwell in the Indian Territory. In relation to the other tribes 
it may be observed that, notwithstanding the guarantees in the treaties 
with the Cherokees, Creeks, Chickasaws, etc., etc., by which they were 
located in this Indian Territory, and by which it was solemnly agreed on 
the part of the United States that at no future time should their lands 
be embraced within the territorial limits or jurisdiction of any State or 
Territory, nor should any State or Territory ever have a right to pass 
laws for their government, there is now (April, 1880) a bill pending in 
the Congress of the United States for the organization of the Territory 
of Oklahoma, and embracing within its denned boundaries the lands of 
these Indians. 



NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 439 

The native Indians west of the Missouri River, residing on the Plains 
and in the mountain Territories, were essentially wild horsemen, and with 
them the government had but very slight treaty relations until years 
after the tribes east of the Mississippi had been transplanted to their 
permanent homes under the provisions of the law of 1830. Since the 
acquisition of California, and the annexation of Texas and New Mexico, 
and the rapid immigration to and settlement in the acquired territory by 
our own population, demands from time to time have been made upon 
the native Indians for portions of their lands for the use and occupation 
of the white population, and through the process of treaty arrangements 
the Indian title has been extinguished to vast bodies of them, within 
which several new States and" a number of Territories have been created 
and organized. To meet these demands the Indians have been removed 
from seat to seat, and the process still goes on. Such removals, and so 
often repeated, have had a most injurious effect on the Indians; and 
until they cease, and absolute permanent homes are provided for each 
tribe, it is not seen how this population can with any degree of success 
become successful cultivators of the soil or proficient in any civilized 
pursuits. 

COST OF INDIAN WAES. 

"Without going back to the conflicts and wars between the races during 
the colonial times, it may be stated that the wars of this character that 
have occurred since the Declaration of Independence, now more than a 
century, have cost the government from three to four hundred millions 
of money. These wars have been produced chiefly by the incessant pres- 
sure of the white race, and its constant trespass upon the Indian. Even 
the treaties solemnly made with the tribes by the government have been, 
with scarcely an exception, broken. The whole record of our Indian 
wars is one that cannot be examined with any degree of satisfaction or 
with one single emotion of pleasure, since it is a sickening detail of out- 
rage, robbery', and murder. In these conflicts human life has been fear- 
fully sacrificed. The most friendly and innocent Indians have not been 
spared, and often in their savage wrath they have slain innocent and un- 
offending white people. 

REMOVAL OF INDIANS. 

In the year 1825, when the question of the removal of the Indian 
tribes to the west of the Mississippi was being discussed, the War De- 
partment estimated their number at 129,266. They were distributed as 



440 THE GREAT WEST. 

follows : In Maine, 950 ; Massachusetts, 750 ; Rhode Island, 420 ; Con- 
necticut, 400; New York, 5143; Virginia, 47; South Carolina, 450; 
Ohio, 2350; Michigan, 28,316; Indiana and Illinois, 11,579; Georgia, 
Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi, 53,625 ; Florida, 5000 ; Louisiana, 
1313 ; Missouri and Arkansas, 18,917. 

The Secretary of War thought there was no necessity to provide for 
the removal of the Indians in Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Con- 
necticut, Virginia, and South Carolina ; and he expressed the opinion 
that those in New York, the Ottawas of Ohio, as well as the Indians in 
Indiana and Illinois and in the Peninsula of Michigan, might all be re- 
moved to the country west of Lake Michigan and north of Illinois. 
He also thought that the Indians in Florida might remain there ; and 
thus he reduced the number to be provided for and to be removed to the 
country west of the State of Missouri and the Territory of Arkansas to 
about seventy-nine thousand. In the event of their removal he said that 
there should be the strongest and most solemn assurance that the country 
given them should be theirs as a permanent home for themselves and their 
posterity, without being disturbed by the encroachments of our citizens. 

After the passage of the act of May 28, 1830, the process of removal 
began, and was continued from year to year until the year 1843, when 
the principal part of the Seminoles were removed. These were the last, 
and they and some other small tribes who did remove were not contem- 
plated in the report of the Secretary made in 1825 to be removed. The 
tribes removed were the Choctaws, Creeks, Cherokees, Chickasaws, Semi- 
noles, Shawnees, Wyandots, Senecas, Delawares, Winnebagoes, Pottawat- 
tamies, Kickapoos, Quapaws, Miamis, Chippewas of Roqhe de Boeuf, 
Sacs and Foxes, Wees, Kaskaskias, Peorias, and Piankashaws — all of 
whom, by the census or estimate of 1825, aggregated a population of 
72,920. The descendants of these Indian tribes, so far as they can be 
traced, had, in the fall of 1878, according to the report of the Indian 
Office, a population of 66,861. Of these, 1764 Pottawattamie, Sac and 
Fox, and Iowa Indians reside in Nebraska ; 737 Kickapoo, Pottawat- 
tamie, and Chippewa and Munsees reside in Kansas ; 2200 Eastern Chero- 
kees reside in North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee ; 
1180 Pottawattamies and Winnebagoes reside in Wisconsin; and about 
1000 Miamis and Seminoles reside in Indiana, Texas, and Florida. The 
residue (59,987) reside in the Indian Territory south of Kansas and west 
of Arkansas. 

It is known that from time to time portions of the Delaware, Shawnee, 
Seminole, Creek, and other Indians in considerable numbers separated 



NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 441 

from their respective tribes and went to Mexico. Could the number of 
these be ascertained, together with the number of individuals and families 
who have severed the tribal relation and become dwellers among the 
neighboring white population, it is believed an aggregate could be pro- 
duced which, when added to the census of 1878 of the emigrated tribes, 
given in the report of the Indian Bureau (66,861), would produce as 
large, if not larger, population than the census or estimate of the same 
tribes made by the Secretary of War in 1825. 

According to the report of the Indian Office for the year 1878, the 
Indian population within the limits of the United States which has 
treaty relations with the government, and exclusive of the Indians in 
Alaska, is stated at 250,864. This population is distributed as follows : 
In Arizona, 20,908 ; California, 9127 ; Colorado, 3739 ; Dakota, 25,616 ; 
Idaho, 4911 ; Indian Territory, 75,479 ; Iowa, 341 ; Kansas, 737 ; Mich- 
igan, 9800; Minnesota, 5138; Montana, 19,764; Nebraska, 4064; Ne- 
vada, 6977; New Mexico, 22,419; New York, 5093; North Carolina, 
South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee (Eastern Cherokees), 2200 ; Ore- 
gon, 6726; Utah, 820; Washington, 12,969; Wisconsin, 8725; Wy- 
oming, 2188 ; Indian Texas and Florida, 1000. A few of these In- 
dians are not under the care of any agent, and there are in addition some 
in several of the New England and other States that have no treaty rela- 
tions with the United States. The Indians in Alaska are supposed to 
number about 10,000. 

According to the report of the Indian Office for the year 1878, the 
number of Indians who then wore citizen's dress was 127,450. Of these, 
61,467 were males and 65,983 females. The number of houses occupied 
by Indians was 23,060. Of schools there were among the Indians 60 
boarding- and 306 day-schools. The number of scholars attending these 
schools was 12,222. Of these, 6631 were males and 5591 were females. 
The number of children of school age was estimated at 49,200. The 
number of Indians that could read and write was placed at 41,300. 
There was expended for education during the year $353,125. Of this 
amount there was appropriated by the Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws, 
Creeks, and Seminoles the sum of $137,775. The number of church- 
buildings distributed among the Indian tribes was 219, and the number 
of missionaries among them was 226. The five last-named tribes, who 
are called the " civilized tribes " and reside in the Indian Territory, cul- 
tivated during the year 245,000 acres of land, the product from which 
was 494,400 bushels of wheat, 2,642,000 bushels of corn, 210,000 bush- 
els of oats and barley, 320,000 bushels of vegetables, and 116,500 tons 



442 THE GREAT WEST. 

of hay. These tribes then owned 40,000 horses, 4700 mules, 236,000 
head of cattle, 173,000 head of hogs, and 25,000 sheep. 

Other Indian tribes than the five referred to cultivated during the 
same year 128,018 acres of land, the product from which was 266,100 
bushels of wheat, 971,303 bushels of corn, 127,697 bushels of oats and 
barley, 315,585 bushels of vegetables, 36,943 tons of hay, 193 tons of 
melons, and 697 tons of pumpkins. There were among and by these 
Indians 22,319 acres of new land broken during the year, and 128,056 
rods of fencing made. There were during the year 2351 allotments of 
land made to full-blood Indians. These then owned 176,766 head of 
horses, 4479 head of mules, 52,867 head of cattle, 27,671 hogs, and 
510,074 sheep. 

Among other products of Indian labor during the year were 8,100,630 
feet of lumber sawed, 132,886 cords of wood cut, 200,600 shingles made, 
387,000 pounds of maple-sugar made, 164,000 pounds of wild rice gath- 
ered, 17,000 woollen blankets and shawls made, 2530 willow baskets 
made, 3800 cords of hemlock bark peeled, 211,000 pounds of wool 
clipped for sale, and 3600 barrels of fish sold. 

UNCIVILIZED INDIANS. 

The Indians of the Plains, as well as those in the mountains, and a 
large share of those in the Pacific States and in Washington Territory, 
are still essentially nomads. Such number probably 85,000 to 90,000, 
who produce scarcely anything by cultivation. They have their herds 
of horses and cattle, and some of them flocks of sheep, but they do not 
till the soil. Some of them are so located that, if they desired to engage 
in agriculture, they could not do so. At the rate that the white settle- 
ments are pressing upon them, the time is not distant when they will be 
compelled, from the contraction of their hunting-grounds and the scarcity 
of game, to change their mode of life and settle down to cultivation and 
stock-raising. With all the drawbacks which beset and confront the In- 
dians in every step they take on the road to civilization, the statistics 
given, with the product from the labor of those engaged in agricultural 
and pastoral life, should be sufficient to remove all doubts of the capa- 
bility of the race to become self-supporting, and that in a very few 
years this result may be reached if these wards of the government have 
that protection and care to which they are justly entitled. 

IS THE INDIAN RACE DYING OUT? 

There is a general opinion prevailing that the Indian race is vanishing. 



NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 443 

This opinion has been encouraged in the official literature of the country 
for many years. We read in it from year to year of the " remnants of 
tribes that were once renowned and powerful, but who have become weak 
and without spirit or energy.''" And a cursory reading of the history of 
our border wars and the number of Indians slain would lead to the con- 
clusion that the race was wellnigh extinct. It is true that from a multi- 
plicity of causes many of the tribes known in our early history have ceased 
to exist as such, but others that were enabled to pass through the trying 
period, and who have not been further afflicted with wars or removals, 
are slowly but surely increasing in numbers. In 1825 the population of 
the Cherokees was given at 15,000. About 1835 they were — except 
probably 2000, called the " Eastern Cherokees," who remained behind — 
removed to the country in the Indian Territory where they now reside. 
In the removal nearly one-fourth of their number perished. Between 
1825 and the period of their removal they suffered loss from wars, and 
during the late civil war Cherokee troops were engaged in the conflict, 
and numbers were killed ; and yet by the census of the Cherokees taken 
in 1878 they show a population (including 2200 Eastern Cherokees) of 
21,072. The Chickasaws, who were removed at a later period to the In- 
dian Territory, number 2000 more in 1878 than they did in 1825. The 
Delawares, now located in the Indian Territory, show a slight increase in 
1878 over their number in 1854, when they resided in the forks of the 
Kansas -and Missouri Rivers. Several other tribes show a like result. 

Considerable attention has in the last few years been given to vital sta- 
tistics among a number of the Indian tribes, and from the facts given it is 
apparent that in tribes where a register of births and deaths was kept 
there is a slight excess of the former over the latter. This ratio of in- 
crease is sufficient to justify the conclusion that the Indian race is not 
vanishing from natural causes. It is an admitted fact that in the wild 
tribes in the transition state from the life of the nomad to that of the cul- 
tivator of the soil there is for a period a decline in numbers. In due 
time, however, this decline ceases, and a gradual increase follows. The 
opinion so generally held that, as a necessary result from contact with 
civilization, the Indian race will disappear, must be modified, and the fact 
accepted that the aboriginal population is to form a part of the great 
American race. 

There are elements in Indian character of vast importance and essential 
to the composition of what we proudly claim is to be " the master-race 
of the world." The Indian is always reverential to the Deify. No tribe 
has been found that has not a belief in immortality. The Indian is pecu- 



444 THE GREAT WEST. 

liarly a spiritually-minded man. He is straightforward in religion, in 
politics, in law, in love, in business. He is of all men the most faithful 
to his engagements. He is of all men the most free and independent. 
He is the most fearless in council and war. He is the best educated man 
in self-command and in his respect for the rights of others. Hospitable, 
generous, confiding, and truthful, he challenges comparison in manhood 
with those of any race. If he is not all that we have said of him to-day, 
as he was in his original condition, it is not his fault. The elements 
of manhood were there when we found him. We may have given him 
the vices of civilization, and by example taught him to be treacherous 
and unfaithful in some instances, but no race of crude barbarians has 
possessed so many desirable characteristics as the North American Indians. 
With all these to commend him, it appears strange indeed that the early 
colonists should have failed to recognize in the Indian the most essential 
elements of manhood. Wherever we find Indian blood mingling with 
good white blood we find convincing evidence of the sad mistake our 
fathers made when they made causeless war upon the Indian. Had they 
met him upon terms of equality and treated him as a man and a brother, 
and in Christian spirit taught him by example that they had brought 
with them a new and better way, a better system of law, a better religious 
faith and practice, a better domestic and political economy, and demon- 
strated to him that they were honest when they proclaimed "Peace on 
earth and goodwill to men," no bloody Indian wars would have scourged 
the land. 



THE CLIFF-DWELLERS. 

BY EMMA C. HARDACKE. 



OUR ancestors named this the New World. They grouped their cab- 
ins upon its shores, believing themselves to be the first who had 
planted colonies within its primeval forests. After several hundred years 
possession we discover that successive and unnumbered civilizations had, 
possibly, flourished and decayed upon this continent before Columbus 
crossed the sea. Archaeologists have examined fortifications in the prai- 
ries, have unearthed cities in the valleys, found sacrificial altars on the 
bluffs, and burial-mounds by the water-courses, showing that the so-called 
New World is the mausoleum of a pre-historic race— the cemetery of lost 
tribes whose crumbling habitations are their only headstones. 

Of late, blown over the Plains, come stories of strange, newly-discov- 
ered cities of the far South-west— picturesque piles of masonry of an age 
unknown to tradition. These ruins mark an era among antiquarians. 
The mysterious Mound-builders fade into comparative insignificance be- 
fore the grander and more ancient Cliff-dwellers, whose castles lift their 
towers amid the sands of Arizona and crown the terraced slopes of the 
Rio Mancos and the Hovenweep. 

A ruin, accidentally discovered by A. D. Wilson of the Hayden Survey 
several years ago, while he was pursuing his labors as chief of the Topo- 
graphical Corps in Southern Colorado, is described to me by Mr. Wilson 
u a stone building about the size of the Patent Office. It stood upon 
the bank of the Animas, in the San Juan country, and contained perhaps 
five hundred rooms. The roof and portions of the wall had fallen, but 
the part standing indicated a height of four stories. A number of the 
rooms were fairly preserved, had small loophole windows, but no outer 
doors. The building had doubtless been entered originally by means of 
ladders resting on niches and drawn in after the occupants. The floors 
were of cedar, each log as large around as a man's head, the spaces filled 



446 THE GREAT WEST. 

neatly by smaller poles and twigs, covered by a carpet of cedar-bark. 
The ends of the timber were bruised and frayed, as if severed by a dull 
instrument ; in the vicinity were stone hatchets, and saws made of sand- 
stone slivers about two feet long, worn to a smooth edge. A few hundred 
yards from the niammoth building was a second large house in ruins, and 
between the two strongholds rows of small dwellings, built of cobble- 
stones laid in adobe, and arranged along streets after the style of the 
village of to-day. The smaller houses were in a more advanced state of 
ruin, on account of the round stones being more readily disintegrated by 
the elements than the heavy masonry. The streets and houses of this 
deserted town are overgrown by juniper and pinon — the latter a dwarf, 
widespreading pine, which bears beneath the scales of its cones delicious 
and nutritious nuts. From the size of the dead as well as the living 
trees, and from their position on the heaps of crumbling stone, Mr. Wil- 
son concludes that a great period of time has elapsed since the buildings 
fell. How many hundred years they stood after desertion before yielding 
to the inroads of time cannot be certainly known. 

The presence of sound wood in the houses does not militate against their 
antiquity. In the dry, pure air of Southern Colorado wood fairly protected 
will last for centuries. In Asia cedar-wood has been kept a thousand 
years, and in Egypt cedar is known to have been in perfect preservation 
two thousand years after it left the forest. The cedars throughout the 
territories of the South-west do not rot, even in the groves. They die, 
and stand erect, solid and sapless. The winds and whirling sands carve 
the dead trees into forms of fantastic beauty, drill holes through the 
trunks, and play at hide-and-go-seek in the perforated limbs, until, after 
ages of resistance, they literally blow away in atoms of fine, clean dust. 

On the Rio San Juan, about twenty-five miles distant from the City of 
the Animas, Mr. Wilson discovered the following evening a similar pile, 
looming solemnly in the twilight near their camping-place. The scene 
as described was weird in the extreme. As the moon arose the shadows 
of the phantom buildings were thrown darkly across the silvery plain. 
The camp-fires, the tiny tents, the negro cook, the men in buckskin hunt- 
ing-garb, and the picketed mules, made a strange picture of the summer's 
night, with background of moonlit desert and crumbling ruins, on whose 
ramparts towered dead, gaunt cedars, lifting their bleached skeletons like 
sheeted ghosts within the silent watch-towers of the murky past. 

In the summer of 1874 a division of the Hayden Survey, specially 
detailed for the work under the direction of W. H. Jackson, started to 
find and investigate thoroughly the ancient cities of the South-west. 



THE CLIFF-DWELLERS. 447 

They have brought back the first authentic and official information ever 
received upon the subject. They report the ruins found by Mr. Wilson 
to be on the northern edge of an immense settlement which once extended 
its dense population far down into New Mexico. The area covered is 
several thousand square miles, and embraces the adjoining corners of 
Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, the most southerly ruins 
showing much the finer specimens of architecture. The region is remote 
from civilization, and the nearest railroad point between two and three 
hundred miles distant. From Fort Garland the way leads across a track- 
less desert, dotted by sage-brush and stunted grease-wood, and enlivened 
by rattlesnakes, horned toads, and tarantulas. In patches the alkali rests 
on the sand in fleecy flakes like new-fallen snow, and over all the sun 
beats down in tropical fury. The streams formed on the western slope 
of the Rocky Mountains have cut long canoned valleys through nearly 
horizontal beds in the southern part of the desert, and have gashed the 
underlying rock to a depth sometimes of many thousand feet. The river- 
beds are for the most part dry, except when in spring the snows come 
from the mountains in a brief, cool flood, which, disappearing, leaves only 
pasty, brackish dregs in the pockets of the rocks. Very rarely there are 
found living springs trickling down the canon-side, marked by the mosses 
and leaflets that even in deserts find out and dwell beside the tiniest rill. 

Bounded by the Rio Mancos, the La Plata, and the Rio San Juan is a 
triangle embracing an area of six hundred square miles which does not 
contain a drop of water. Around the edges of this triangle is a wide- 
spread network of ravines crusted with ruins. The San Juan and the 
La Plata have quite a width of bottom-land between their sides, but the 
Rio Mancos runs like a brooklet along its narrow path, shut in by sheer 
walls thousands of feet in height. On the terraces of the m»re open 
canons are multitudes of picturesque ruins ; in the bottom-lands, the re- 
mains of towns ; in the wilder canons, houses perched on the face of the 
dizzy chasm. In an encampment one thousand feet above the valley of 
the Rio Mancos are single houses, groups of two and three, and villages, 
according to the width of the shelf they occupy. They are so high that 
the naked eye can distinguish them merely as specks. There is no pos- 
sible access to them from above, on account of the rocks that project over- 
head — no present way of reaching them from below, although doubling 
paths and footholes in the rocks show where the way has been of old 
trodden by human feet. 

The cliffs are in some parts limestone, but more frequently sandstone, 
with alternating strata of shales or clay. The softer layers weather out, 



44S 

THE GREAT WEST. 



leaving caves, whose solid stone ledges serve as floors and roofs of the 
clifl-dwellmgs. A few houses are two stories-one showed four stories— 
but generally they are not higher than a man's head; division-walls are 
built, beginning at the back of the opening and working outward to the 
front of the cave, which is so neatly walled by masonry of the prevailing 
stone that the artificial work is scarcely noticeable by a casual observer. 
Upon the summits of the loftier battlements are placed at irregular in- 
tervals round stone towers, supposed to have been signal-towers. The 
illustration gives a better idea than words can give of "the ancient 
watch-tower of the cliffs." The curve of the aboriginal masonry is 
perfect; the side of the tower has fallen, and the summit is jagged by 
the gnawing tooth of Time ; but it stands boldly on the heights, and waite 
through the centuries the coming of the dead braves to light again its 
signal-fires At present the roving Navajos, excepting scattering Utes, 
are the only wanderers through the barren land. 

In the McElmo Cafion stands a ruin known as "Battle Rock" A 
huge boulder has fallen, and rests on the wall of a straight fortification, 
and both boulder and wall are exquisitely wreathed about by wild vines 
On the terrace beneath Battle Rock stand the remains of a round build- 
ing, plainly showing the ends of beams where the floor of the second story 
has been; on a bench yet lower ruined towers lean heavily against the 
sandstone bank; -while on the very top of the embattled cliff are other 
walls surrounded by fringes of juniper, and from the pinnacle of the 
loftiest of the group a slender stem supports a tuft of pine outlined like 
a black flag against the sky. The country around this spot is strewn 
with flint arrow-heads lodged in the crevices and buried in the ground 
All the arrows lie with their points toward the ruins. In none of the 
settlements have there been signs discovered of partially-completed points 
or anything to indicate that the Cliff-dwellers were a warlike people or 
that they fought with bows. The arrows are supposed to have been left 
by an invading horde which swept, in some remote time, over the whole 
country and waged fierce warfare upon the rich cities of the South-land 

The Battle Rock of the McElmo is not more beautiful than the neigh- 
boring "Hovenweep Castle," or, literally, "The Castle of the Deserted 
\ alley. On the surrounding headlands of the Hovenweep, as well as 
on the distant plateaus of the Dolores and other streams, are sombre 
cities of the dead" lifting their monumental tablets from the bare 
desert-sands. According to our authorities, no bones have been found in 
these cemeteries, no signs of graves, but charred wood and ash-heaps are 
mingled with the sand. In all probability this ancient people were fire- 




AN ATTACK ON A VILLAGE OF CAVE-DWELLERS. 



THE CLIFF-DWELLERS. 449 

worshippers who cremated their dead, and fancied that the souls of their 
race fled as the sparks upward, and found their heaven in the bosom of 
the blazing sun. The stones are mere memorials showing the spot where 
the dead were burned. 'The fact that the sun was their deity is substan- 
tiated by the estufas in their dwellings and in their cities. The buildings 
where their sacred rites were performed are of circular shape, depressed 
in the centre of the floor, show marks of altar-fires, are often triple- 
walled, with partitions extending from the centre through the walls, like the 
sun's rays, dividing the space into small apartments where their treasures 
were stored. The present Pueblo Indians of New Mexico and Arizona 
are believed to be the remnant of the descendants of the conquered Cliff- 
men. The mud houses of the Pueblos are modelled rudely after the 
stone dwellings of the bottom-lands, and some signs of retrograde civil- 
ization link them to a better time. The seven Moqui cities of Arizona 
have estufas and the tribes are fire-worshippers. The Moqui towns are 
now in precisely the state of preservation that they were described by the 
invading Spaniards to be nearly four hundred years ago. Assuming the 
Moquis to be lineal descendants of the Cliff-dwellers, how vast a time the 
old canon castles must have been deserted when even the Moquis have 
no knowledge of the grand homes of their ancestors! Regarding the 
age of the Pueblos, they were said by Coronado, at the time of the 
Conquest, to look very old. Castenado records that the inhabitants 
told him that the Pueblos were older than the memory of seven 
generations. 

The ruins now made known to the public, at the time of the Spanish 
invasion were spoken of as fabulous, and in 1681, in the journal of Don 
Antonio de Otermin, mention is made of vague rumors to the effect that 
eighty leagues distant there were Casas Grandas which had long before 
served as fortresses. Albert Gallatin said : " There are said to be in these 
parts ruins of ancient buildings known as Casas Grandas, ascribed to the 
Azteques." 

That the Pueblo Moquis are fire-worshippers, as were the cliff-dwellers, 
is made evident by an account in Daviss's Conquest of New Mexico : 
" Many curious tales are told of the superstitions of the Pueblos. It is 
said that Montezuma. kindled sacred fires in the estufas, and commanded 
that they be kept burning until his return. He was expected to appear 
with the rising sun, and every morning the inhabitants ascended to the 
house-tops and strained their eyes looking to the east for the appearance 
of their deliverer and king. The task of watching the sacred fires was 
assigned to the warriors, who served by turns a period of two days and 

29 



450 THE GREAT WEST. 

two nights without eating or drinking, and some say that they remained 
upon duty until death or exhaustion relieved them." 

Espejo says : " In the Pueblos they represented, by means of pictures, 
the sun, moon, and stars as objects of worship. When they saw the 
Spaniards' horses they were on the point of worshipping them as superior 
beings ; they subsisted them in their most beautiful homes and entreated 
them to accept the best they had." 

Daviss says : " The houses are mud and stone, entered by means of 
outside ladders. I was shown their god Montezuma. It was made of 
tanned skin stretched on a circular frame nine inches in diameter ; one 
half was painted green, and the other red ; on the green part were holes 
representing eyes — on the red part, pieces of leather for ears and mouth. 
The people knelt around it and offered prayer. One of them told me 
this senseless thing was God and the brother of God." 

One of the Hayden party who visited these Pueblos in 1875 says that 
at smirise the inhabitants stand on the house-tops and stretch out their 
arms toward the east, waiting silently for the sun to rise above the horizon. 
When it appears they burst into a great shout and disappear within their 
homes. It cannot fail to be an interesting study to trace out the line of 
kinship between the Indians of the old Pueblos and the earlier residents 
of the stone buildings in the canons. The investigations now inaugurated 
must before long lead to clearer ideas concerning the lost tribes. 

To return to the cliffs. Portions of the canon-walls were painted with 
pictorial word-writing and curious hieroglyphics. In one case inscriptions 
were seen back of a boulder through the crevice, between it and the wall. 
The boulder had fallen from above so many years ago that parts of it 
were imbedded in roots and trunks of trees, yet the writing back of it 
was as fresh as though painted yesterday. The pottery found in all the 
ruins is similar in form and texture ; it is thin, of hard finish, and painted 
in colors that have lost none of their original brightness. 

In a shallow cave of the Rio de Chelley, a few hundred feet above the 
river-bed, fifty exquisitely tinted arrow-heads and seven large jars were 
unearthed. The cave contains a house three stories high, having seventy- 
six rooms on the ground floor. The ruins are five hundred and fifty feet 
long. Within the work-room were large grindstones and various imple- 
ments of the Stone Age. The walls are plastered in white cement of 
stucco-like finish. That it was spread on the Avails by human hands is 
evident from the marks of the pores of the skin to be found on the sur- 
face. Occasionally, the whole print of the hand has been left ; one wo- 
man's slender fingers are thus preserved for the people of the nineteenth 



THE CLIFF-DWELLERS. 451 

century ; they seem to be extended, as though pleading to be rescued from 
the horror of annihilation. Low down on the walls are the chubby palms 
of little children, with every crease and dimple preserved. 

A very picturesque ruin of the Rio de Chelley has been ingeniously 
modelled in miniature, together with the face of the bluff in which it rests. 
The worn steps up the rock, the cave, and crumbling masonry are more 
perfectly reproduced by the sculptor's chisel than is possible by pen and 
pencil. Duplicates of the design have been made in plaster, painted in 
the warm buff tints of the shaly sandstone. These are framed, and will 
be sold at their first cost by Professor Hayden to colleges or private in- 
dividuals, and will be invaluable in explaining the cliff-ruins to students 
interested in all that pertains to the former inhabitants of North America, 
The models are about three feet by two in size. 

Among the countless ruins of the Rio San Juan there is a circular cave 
two hundred feet high, opening like a deep round tunnel in the canon- 
wall. Across the centre of the cave a shelf of hard rock forms the 
foundation of a stately pile, which extends into the twilight of the 
cavern, midway up the height. It can be seen for the distance of a 
mile down the bend of the canon. In the interior an open space prob- 
ably served as a workshop. Holes in the rock formerly supported the 
posts of their looms, while grooves in the floor mark where the workmen 
made their stone saws and sharpened their clumsy stone axes. The front 
part of the lower floor is in one long apartment or promenade ; the upper 
rooms have small windows, communicating doors between the apartments, 
and outer apertures leading into the back part of the cave. The mild 
climate excused the necessity of any house-covering other than the dome- 
like ceiling of the vaulted cavern. In a central room of the main build- 
ing a depression, bearing traces of aboriginal fires, marks what was once 
the kitchen-range of the manor : on smooth hot stones their cakes of acorn 
paste were baked ; the stones yet lie beside the ash-heap. In the pit they 
roasted their sheep ; the bones remain in a refuse-heap outside. Whether 
plain corn on the cob or succotash was most relished by these spectres we 
shall never know, although an impression of a cob in the plaster on the 
wall proves that corn was raised in the time of the Cliff-dwellers. Several 
of the apartments have marks of fires built against the back walls, where 
the smoke escaped overhead through the open roof. The house is bare, 
except much broken pottery, artistically painted ; things of value have 
long since been carried away by the roving bands of Indians. The man- 
sion presents an unusually imposing appearance. None of the neighbors 
boasted so big a cave or so grand an entrance-hall. The family which 



452 THE GREAT WEST. 

in the old time dwelt therein must have been of the aristocracy of the 
land. 

From the promenade upon the house-top they could look down the 
steep descent to their waving fields of corn and groves of cotton-wood, 
their sheep-corrals and pifion-orchards, and upward to the grand roof of 
the cavern which Mother Nature had scooped with her giant hand for 
their sheltered homestead. To this cave-house Mr. Jackson gave the 
name " Casa del Eco," because of the resonant reverberations which 
caused the faintest whisper of the visitors to be repeated as though 
by hosts of phantom lips within the shades of the gray old ruin. 

In the time when Casa del Eco resounded with merry life, social dis- 
tinctions, I suppose, existed as now. In pre-historic times, no more than 
in our times, could every one afford a palace. Poverty hid her wan face 
behind picturesque simplicity, and young people tried love in a cottage 
and dwelt in dove-cotes beside their prouder kinsfolk. A tiny home, 
neat and trim as a Yankee kitchen, is perched on the heights of the West 
Montezuma, near its junction with the East Fork. The house is built in 
an oval hole which has been weathered out of a solid block of sandstone 
that rests on the brink of a curiously-stratified chasm. The dwelling, six 
by ten feet, is as securely tucked away from the sun and rain as a small 
boy under an umbrella. The space between the side of the house and 
the enclosing rock forms a nice little shady piazza. Who knows but 
from this eyrie some dusky bride watched for her lover when the 
evening shades settled dark in the cafion lane? 

Farther down the Montezuma are settlements at the base of the bluffs 
containing houses one hundred feet square, with foundation-walls extend- 
ing six feet below the surface of the ground. In one was found a stone 
axe ground to an acute angle and shaped ready to tie on to a handle ; 
small rope made of twisted rushes, a small unbroken bowl, and ears of 
charred corn were taken out of the ruins. A row of small houses, hang- 
ing over the brink of a narrow ledge high in air, threatens a barrack-like 
row three hundred feet below. The lower terrace has been dug out to a 
depth of six feet. The space is occupied by a row of tenement-like 
houses four hundred feet in length. The corner room affords access 
to the row; communicating doors lead through the interior. 

Mr. Jackson, in his late report, says : " The cafion sometimes expands 
into valleys from four to eight hundred feet wide, then contracts to a pas- 
sage of twenty feet. In the wider places the rocks jut out in tongue-like 
projections, occasionally connected with the main land by a narrow comb 
of rock, and sometimes cut away entirely by the erosive powers that eh is- 



THE CLIFF-DWELLERS. 453 

elled the canons. Within a distance of eighteen miles fifteen of the 
promontories bear ruins upon their isolated heights. In one the skeleton 
of a man was found, wrapped in shreds of a white and black Navajo 
blanket. The form was that of an Indian, who without doubt had wan- 
dered in there, and died alone in the cave-shelter." 

Of the multitudes who swarmed through the canons and the plains 
when the wonderful stone-cutting and tree-hewing were going on, when 
the towns were being built, and the country homes perched on the high 
places, there have been no bodily remains found which could be identi- 
fied as those of the Cliff-dwellers. A single skull, petrified, with the 
brain-pan filled by solidified sand, was discovered in a ravine eighteen 
feet beneath the surface ; above it were the ruins of two ancient houses, 
one built over the foundations of the other : a few feet of drift separated 
them, indicating that considerable time had intervened between the pe- 
riods of their erection. 

The most remarkable ruins yet discovered are those standing in New 
Mexico some little distance from the ones already mentioned. They put 
to shame the primitive log hut of our forefathers, the frame shanty of the 
prairie town, the dug-out of the mining-regions, the adobe shelter of the 
Pacific slope. In size and grandeur of conception they equal any of the 
present buildings of the United States, if we except the Capitol at Wash- 
ington, and may without discredit be compared to the Pantheon and the 
Colosseum of the Old World. Thirty years ago, while on a raid against 
the Navajos, Lieutenant Simpson, of the staff of Colonel Washington, 
military governor of New Mexico, found some of the ruins of Chaco 
Canon, the most southern of the ancient cities ■ of the South-west. Mr. 
Jackson was fortunate in finding at Jemez an Indian who had accompa- 
nied Lieutenant Simpson in his visit. Hosta is past eighty, of thin and 
stooping frame, but he assured the Hay den party that he was as young 
as he ever had been, and could pilot them through the nearest cut to 
Chaco Canon. He enlivened the journey by garrulous reminiscences of 
his former trip, and described Colonel Washington and his men as he re- 
membered them. After crossing the New Mexico line, the explorers re- 
port that singular optical illusions were frequent. The cheating mirage 
hovered before them, holding up green oases and shadowy walls, vine- 
draped and tree-embowered ; the sand-hills, sage-brush, and scant grass 
were magnified into mountains, forests, and fields of maize. 

The ruins are visible seven miles away as one looks down from the 
continental Divide, from which the canons begin their way in furrow- 
like gulches. Near by are low mesas and buttes, and the Jemely Moun- 



454 THE GREAT WEST. 

tains, the San Mateo, and the Cerro Cabezon are in clear view. The 
ruins of the canon are eleven in number, strung along at distances of 
from a quarter of a mile to two miles from each other. In the rocks of 
Pueblo Pintado, Mr. Jackson discovered elaborate stone steps, where the 
rock had been carved into ladder-like rounds which the hands could 
grasp. 

The Pueblo Penasco Blanca on the opposite side of the call on is in 
form of an ellipse. The western half of the ellipse is occupied by a 
massive structure five rooms deep, and the other half by a single contin- 
uous row of small houses, serving as a wall to enclose the court. The 
interior of the court is 346 by 269 feet; by adding the depth of the sur- 
rounding buildings, an exterior is obtained of 499 feet by 363 feet, whose 
circuit is 1200 feet. The great depth of the debris indicates an original 
height of five stories. There are seven estufas on the west side. 

The Pueblo del Arroya has wings about 135 feet in length, and the 
western wall of the court is 268 feet. Facing the centre of the court 
are three circular estufas, one of thirty-seven feet in diameter and three 
stories in height. Mr. Jackson made a remarkable discovery in this 
pueblo. He says : " About two hundred yards up the arroya are ruins 
whose upper surface is mound-like, showing very faint traces of mason- 
ry. The stream has undermined one corner, exposing a wall at a dis- 
tance of five or six feet below the level of the valley. No surface indi- 
cations of the exposed wall are found. The arroya is here sixteen feet 
deep, but there is an older channel cutting in near the large ruin only 
half this depth. Below the remains of these walls, and extending out 
into the main arroya to the depth of fourteen feet below the surface, is 
an undulating stratum of broken pottery, flint chippings, and small bones 
firmly imbedded in a coarse gravelly deposit." 

The Pueblo Weji-gi is built of small tabular pieces of sandstone, ar- 
ranged with a beautiful effect of regularity and finish. It is a rectan- 
gular structure, built around an open court. Its exterior dimensions are 
224 by 120 feet ; its height, three stories. 

Near the Pueblo Una Vida the canon has a width of five hundred feet, 
perfectly level. Within the court of this pueblo are the remains of the 
largest estufa yet found in any of the ruins. It measures over sixty feet 
on the inside from wall to wall ; its upper plane is on a level with the 
floor of the court ; it was evidently subterranean. 

Nearly all the logs which supported the flooring are yet in position in 
the Pueblo Hungo Pavie. The height is four stories ; the lower walls 
three feet thick ; the estufa extends to the second story, and has a projec- 



THE CLIFF-DWELLERS. 455 

tion or porch built upon one side ; the interior is twenty-three feet in 
diameter, and has six pillars of masonry built into the wall at equal dis- 
tances. 

The Pueblo Chettro Kettle is 440 feet long and 250 feet wide, and pre- 
sents remnants of four stories. The logs forming the second floor extend 
through the walls a distance of six feet, and probably at one time sup- 
ported a balcony on the shady side of the house. The sand has drifted 
far above the first floor, and v completely blocked the windows. A coyote's 
hole exposed a wall beneath the surface that had been completely covered 
by drift. The masonry of this pueblo is unusually handsome — built of 
very small pieces of a rich buff sandstone, arranged so compactly as to 
give the idea of a homogeneous surface. Mr. Jackson estimates that in 
the wall running around three sides of the building, 935 feet in length 
and 40 feet in height, there would be two million pieces of stone for the 
outer surface of the outer wall alone. This surface, multiplied by the 
opposite surface, and also by the interior and transverse lines of masonry, 
would form a total of thirty million pieces embraced in three hundred and 
fifteen thousand cubic feet of wall. The millions of pieces had to be 
quarried and put into position ; timbers brought from a distance ; ladders 
constructed and plaster prepared, employing a large number of skilled 
workmen under good discipline a long time. When we consider not 
alone the immensity of these ruins now on the surface, but reason con- 
cerning the massive foundations of other older buildings under these, 
exposed by the chance burrowing of wild beasts or the slicing down of 
banks by washes and arroyas, the mind, bounded by our little span of 
threescore years and ten, cannot fathom the obscurity of the deep-sunk 
ages of the past filled by the works of so great an antiquity. 

Not more than six hundred yards from the Pueblo Chettro Kettle is a 
handsome ruin which bears the musical title Pueblo Bonita. It is built 
within twenty yards of the bluff, on the level bottom-land, which extends 
in a sandy plain for some distance, watered by a shallow brooklet. The 
length of the Pueblo Bonita is 544 feet, its width 314 feet. It has been 
restored by Mr. Jackson, of the Survey, to what he deems its original 
form, and is presented in a sketch in the government report. A study 
of the picture of the pueblo as it was before its changes came will be of 
more interest than a description of it in its ruined condition. In our 
second hundredth year of national existence we are confronted by tokens 
of a once-powerful nation which held our land before us. It is natural 
that we feel an interest in the unknown race, and search every crevice of 
the past for mementoes of the lost. Dr. Hayden and his corps of assist- 



456 THE GREAT WEST. 

ants have surveyed a rich field of antiquarian treasure. After their cen- 
turies of silent musings upon the river-banks the old castles hear again 
the sound of human voices. The new lips speak a strange language. 
The pre-Columbian race, through whose dismantled homes the strangers 
wander, have passed into the shades of impenetrable oblivion, leaving 
only Conjecture to tell, with uncertain tongue, her story of the Cliff- 
dwellers.* 

*The writer is indebted to " p- ' ssor F. V. Hayden for special courtesies, to A. D. Wil- 
son for verbal description, tc _x. Jackson and W. H. Holmes for sketches and valu- 
able information. The editor desires to add his opinion that the present paper does not 
give Mr. Ernest Ingersoll deserved credit for discoveries among these ruins. 




TOSEMITB AND THE BIG TREES 

BY EEV. GEOEGE A. PELx. , D. D. 



CALIFORNIA is essentially a land of wonders. Its physical features, 
its variety of climate, its diversified scenery, its mineral and veg- 
etable products, its animal life, its cosmopolitan population, and its engi- 
neering exploits, are all wonderful. Nowhere can the intelligent tourist 
find more to amuse and instruct than is found ready at hand everywhere 
in the Golden State, but, by common consent, the Yosemite Valley and 
the Big Trees are placed foremost among the wonders of this wonder- 
producing section. 

There is a geographical reason for placing these two objects together, 
aside from the fact that in their respective spheres each of them is 
supreme. Among valleys Yosemite is the queen ; among trees Califor- 
nia's giants are the sovereigns. But Nature has placed these wonders in 
the same general stretch of her domains. He who goes to Yosemite 
must go near some of the Big Tree groves, and he who goes to a Big 
Tree grove should keep on a little farther to the famous valley. 



THEIR LOCATION. 



All the groves of Big Trees lie along the western slope of the Sierra 
Nevadas. They extend along a stretch of some two hundred miles, but 
immense gaps are scattered between the several groups or groves. They are 
never found at an elevation of less than four thousand feet above the sea, 
and their highest altitudes are about a thousand feet more. Thus, these 
groves flank the Sierras on their westward slopes, and look out over the 
intervening mountains, rivers, plains, and cities to the great Pacific Ocean. 
Back of this great-tree line, some twenty-five miles, separated, however, 
by towering ridges, lies the peerless valley, its almost flat bottom at a 
height above the sea about equal to the lower line of the big-tree belt— 



458 



THE GREAT WEST. 



in round numbers four thousand feet. Be it remembered that the gen- 
eral direction of the valley is north-east and south-west, and that all 
access to it is from the north-eastern end, by which the Merced River 
leaves it. On all other sides the valley is surrounded by precipices and 
rocky piles which defy passage, and beyond these the peaks and highlands 
of the Sierras, often buried in snow for the entire year, stretch away in 
impassable grandeur. And now, with this valley as the objective point, 
how shall one from the busy world outside find his way into it ? 

APPEOACHES TO THE VALLEY. 

Whatever be the tourist's location (except indeed it be Southern Cal- 
ifornia, Arizona, or Mexico), he will approach his destination by means 
of the Central Pacific Railroad, and even from the district just excepted 
he will approach by one of its branches, the Visalia and Los Angeles 
Railroad. The several routes into the valley, with their respective dis- 
tances from San Francisco, are thus given by a California authority : 

I. Big Oak Flat and Calaveras Eoute. 
1. Direct Route. 

To Stockton and Milton (rail) 119 miles. 

Milton to Yosemite (stage) 88 " 

Total 207 miles. 

2. Via Calaveras Big Trees. 

By rail, as above 119 miles. 

By stage 148 " 

Total 267 miles. 

II. COULTERVILLE ROUTE. 

By rail to Merced 140 miles. 

By stage to Yosemite 88 " 

Total 228 miles. 

III. Makiposa Route. 

By rail to Merced 140 miles. 

By stage to Yosemite 97 " 

Total 237 miles. 

IV. Madera Route. 

By rail to Madera 173 miles. 

By stage to Yosemite 92 " 

Total 265 miles. 

Greatest Elevation before Reaching the Valley. 

Big Oak Flat Route (near Tamarack Flat) 7040 feet. 

Coulterville (near Hazel Green) 5650 " 

Mariposa Route (Chowchilla Mountains) 5750 " 

Madera Route " " 4750 " 



YOSEMITE AND THE BIG TREES. 459 

Steepest Grades. 

Big Oak Flat Route 20 feet ma hundred. 

Coulterville * ( u u 

Mariposa ' „ u 

Madera 

Everything pertaining to travel in California varies widely as told by 
differently interested parties, but the foregoing statement is substantially 
correct By either route the round-trip ticket from San Francisco is fifty 
dollars, with a small addition if Calaveras Grove is visited. The better 
way is to enter by one route and leave by another. This can be done by 
pre-arrangement, by exchange in the valley, or by paying to enter merely, 
and then to come out as may suit. In either case the cost is not mate- 
rially different. 

To classify the above table somewhat more perfectly, observe that by 
Route I. passengers leave the Central Pacific Railroad at Stockton, which 
is ninety-two miles east of San Francisco. There they take the Stock- 
ton and Copperopolis Railroad for Milton, some forty miles, where they 
take stage, either by Calaveras Big Trees or direct to the valley, as they 
may elect. In both cases the valley-end of the route by Chinese Camp, 
Priest's Big Oak Flat, Tuolumne Grove of big trees, and Tamarack Flat 
is one and the same. All passengers by this route see the few big trees 
at Tuolumne, and the stage-road is cut direct through the body of " The 
Dead Giant," a standing trunk some thirty feet in diameter and perhaps 
a hundred feet high. Route I. in both its branches is known as the 
" Northern Route." 

For either of the other routes passengers leave the Central Pacific at 
Lathrop, eighty-two miles from San Francisco, where they take the 
Visalia Division, which leads to Los Angeles, Arizona, and where not? 
Of course persons on the southern portion of this road will come north- 
ward to the starting-points they desire to reach. Fifty-eight miles south 
of Lathrop is Merced, from which point two lines of stages start for the 
Yosemite, constituting Routes II. and III. as given above. By the 
Coulterville route one passes through the Merced Grove of big trees, and 
enters the valley finally by a road which follows the channel of the 
Merced River. By the Mariposa route one passes near the Mariposa 
Grove, and makes his stop for the night at "Clark's," otherwise " Big 
Tree Station." 

When upon the Visalia Branch road the tourist may run on to Madera, 
ninety-one miles south of Lathrop, whence stages start by Route IV., 
and, having passed near the Fresno and the Mariposa Groves of big 



460 THE GREAT WEST. 

trees, they, with those of Route III., spend the night at " Clark's." From 
" Clark's " into the valley is a splendid ride over mountain-roads. In a 
few hours the valley is reached, and the first view of it is had from In- 
spiration Point. No such comprehensive survey of this magnificent scene 
is had by the other routes. The northern lines from Big Oak Flat 
descend into the valley on the opposite side of the river, which is so em- 
bosomed in the mountains that no broad outlooks are secured ; and the 
Coulterville lines enter at the level of the valley-bottom, and therefore 
have no overlook. By one of these three entrances all passengers enter 
the valley, and by them all easy access is had by first-class stages. 

THE BIG TREES. 

After this general survey of the approaches to the wonderful region 
under consideration, a detailed survey of the Big Trees is in order. They 
are not ordinary trees, grown big by force of favoring circumstances. 
Such, indeed, are the favoring conditions of growth in many parts of 
California that all vegetable life becomes gigantic. Vines, fruits, veg- 
etables, flowers, and trees of all kinds surpass their less-favored kinsmen 
of other climes. " Big Oak Flat," mentioned above, took its name from 
an immense oak tree which the gold-diggers finally undermined, but 
which still lies at the roadside, dead indeed, but colossal. At the dinner- 
station at Fresno Flats stands an oak twenty-one feet in girth. Near 
" Clark's " is a sugar-pine about which six tall men stood closely, and 
around which their extended arms barely reached. Trees naturally run 
to bigness in that climate, but the genuine Big Trees are of a big family. 

Popular parlance on the Pacific Coast calls them " redwoods," but scien- 
tific parlance designates them as Sequoias. Of the Sequoia family there 
are two branches — first, the Sequoia sempervirens, which is used on the 
Pacific Coast much as the white pine is with builders in the East. This 
tree, however, never becomes gigantic, though, compared with ordinary 
pines, it might be so called. The other member of this family is desig- 
nated Sequoia gigantea, and of this race the giants come. 

On the authority of Mr. John Muir, the eminent naturalist of the 
Pacific Coast, the clusters of Big Trees may be thus designated : (1.) The 
Calaveras Group, which is the most northerly of all. This is reached by 
Route I., as described above. It contains about one hundred of the 
giant trees. The grove is private property, and is kept in superb order. 
A first-class hotel is located in the very heart of the forest, and opportu- 
nities for gathering facts, specimens, etc. are abundant. (2.) The South 
Calaveras Group. This lies about five miles south of the former, and is 



YOSEMITE AND THE BIG TREES. 401 

reached by horse-trail. Here are over three hundred of the giants, in all 
ages, stages, and conditions. (3.) The Tuolumne Group, which is some 
forty miles from the last. It has but a few trees, and is on the Big Oak 
Flat route. (4.) The Merced Group, which is six or eight miles from the 
last. It is on the direct route vid Coulterville. (5.) The Mariposa Group, 
which is fifteen miles from the last, and about a mile off the line of the 
Merced and the Mariposa routes. This is a splendid grove, containing 
over three hundred gigantic trees. It is the property of the State, hav- 
ing been deeded, with all the Yosemite region, by the United States to 
California. It is in charge of a board of guardians, and is to be held 
for ever as a public park. (6.) The Fresno Group, which is some thirty 
miles from the last, and is situated near the Madera route, being accessible 
from the dinner-station of the stage-line. (7.) The Dinkey Group, which 
lies some fifty miles beyond the last. (8.) The King's River Group, which 
begins fifteen miles farther south, and is a great unbroken forest of 
Sequoias, which stretches away for many miles, and forms what Pro- 
fessor Muir calls "the grandest display of vegetable life which is 
known upon the globe." 

Examination of the localities occupied by these giants of vegetation 
indicates that they pre-empted the soils first left bare on the disappearance 
of the Glacial Period. How long ago this was is entirely conjectural, but 
the most venerable of the trees now remaining are probably three thou- 
sand years old, and the average age of those still living is supposed to be 
fifteen hundred years. These trees are always found in wet places, the 
immense rootage favoring marsh formation, and the immense amount of 
nourishment required demanding it. Fossil Sequoias have been found in 
the northern zone, especially in the neighborhood of Disco. These are 
found in the Tertiary and Cretaceous formations, showing that this lordly 
tree flourished in those high latitudes before the great Glacial Period. The 
climate must then have been much warmer than now, as nothing greater 
than the dwarf birch now grows there. 

A few simple illustrations of the size of these trees will enable any one 
to estimate their immensity. In South Calaveras Grove is a tree, stand- 
ing and alive, into a cavity in which the horseback-parties which visit it 
drive. Fifteen or sixteen mounted men are easily packed into it, and the 
guides affirm that twenty, and even twenty-one horses, with men on their 
backs, have been stowed away there. In the Tuolumne Grove there is a 
tree through which the stages are driven, as is mentioned above. AYhen 
the writer of this sketch passed that way he rode in a four-horse stage, 
which carried eleven passengers, with the driver. The stage stopped in 



462 THE GREAT WEST. 

the way cut through the tree. On either side of the halted stage there 
was room for the passengers to alight, which all did. Passing to the side 
from which the stage had entered, and aligning across the opening, the 
rear of the stage, including the baggage-boot, was entirely hidden from 
view in the body of the tree. Passing to the front and aligning across 
there, the wheel-horses were entirely covered. Any one who is so fortu- 
nate as to see a stage such as is here described can form his own estimate 
as to the size of the grand old trunk through the base of which this 
wagon-way is cut. 

In the Calaveras Grove there are several splendid illustrations of size. 
The " Pioneer's Cabin " is a living tree with a split in its front. This is 
so wide that six gentlemen, seated on easy-chairs across the opening, were 
photographed there, and between every two chairs was room enough for 
an additional chair. The opening is about seventeen feet in the clear, the 
entire width of the tree being about thirty feet. The " Father of the 
Forest " is a fallen and much-decayed giant in this same grove. About 
eighty feet from the root the trunk broke in falling. At this point 
mounted men enter the hollow trunk, through which they ride for about 
one hundred feet. At the point where they emerge the writer of this 
sketch entered afoot, and walked upward in the trunk for about twenty 
feet. Here he found a short ladder against the side, up which he clam- 
bered, and, though he weighs two hundred pounds, out he went at an old 
knothole, not so much as soiling his coat or tipping his hat ; and, having 
stood a moment on the rim of the hole, he leaped to the ground on the 
outside, persuaded fully that to creep out at a knothole was, after all, no 
very mean affair. 

The crowning illustration of immensity is found in one, the only one, 
of the great trees which man has ever felled. This grew in the Calaveras 
Grove. It was determined to cut it down, for scientific uses in the main. 
Five men worked upon it twenty-two days, not chopping or sawing, but 
boring it with pump-augers. After the separation was complete the base 
was so great and the centre of gravity was so well sustained that the 
veteran refused to fall. Ropes, pulleys, and wedges were finally brought 
to bear, and down the giant came. The tree was over three hundred feet 
long, ninety-six feet in circumference at its base, and sound to the heart. 
Sections were cut from the main trunk for museums and curiosity-hunters. 
The upper, uncut portion was levelled off for a bowling-alley, but, not 
having been covered, has gone greatly to decay. The section of the trunk 
next the stump was set apart as an observatory, ascent to its summit 
being made by a flight of steep steps. The top of the stump itself was 



YOSEMITE AND THE BIG TREES. 463 

some six feet above the ground. This was smoothed off, levelled, and 
its irregularities filled out to make a true circle, which was then covered 
with a pavilion structure, and on the following Fourth of July four 
full sets, of eight persons each, danced upon it, with plenty of room 
for spectators around the edges and for the orchestra which furnished 
the music. 

Of the capacities of this one stump Bishop Kingsley presented two 
other illustrations. He calculated that you might here find room for a 
minister with his desk, a chorister with his organ, and a congregation of 
one hundred persons. Or with the square feet upon the top of this stump 
you might construct a parlor twelve feet by sixteen, a dining-room ten 
feet by fifteen, a kitchen ten by twelve, two bedrooms each ten feet square, 
a pantry four feet by eight, two clothes-presses each four feet wide by one 
and a half feet deep, and even then have a little to spare. These narra- 
tives may seem to be " very large stories," as a critical editor once said of 
them, but let two things be remembered in connection with this seeming 
exaggeration : (1) as this very editor confessed, " they are about very big 
trees ;" and (2) they are but a few specimens from many as unusual, or even 
more so. 

YOSEMITE. 

Having spent so much time among the Big Trees, we anxiously turn 
toward the great valley. By which route shall the valley be entered ? 
Unquestionably, by Inspiration Point, which means that we approach 
from " Clark's," otherwise " Big Tree Station," which is the night-halt 
of the Madera and the Merced stages. While at this place let the Mari- 
posa Grove be visited. They will tell you there that you had better visit 
the trees as you return, and for this various reasons will be assigned. The 
only real reason is, however, that they desire to commit you to return by 
their way. This they do not state, but this is the fact. See the Mariposa 
trees as you enter, therefore, then journey on untrammelled toward Inspi- 
ration Point. 

INSPIRATION POINT. 

The Inspiration Point around which the stage-road bends, and at which 
the stage makes a halt, is not the Inspiration Point of the earlier days. 
That is some fifteen hundred feet higher up, on the very summit of the 
bluff, and is reached' only by horse-trail. But the point reached by the 
stages is not to be despised. It is two thousand feet above the bottom 
of the valley, and situated at its very foot, so as to command a complete 



464 THE GREAT WEST. 

view of all the immediate surroundings. The higher Point gives an 
outlook over the pinnacles and summits of the Sierra Nevadas, which the 
lower Point does not ; but for the valley proper and its peculiar charms 
the lower view is by many deemed preferable. The point at which 
Moran did the work on his great painting of the valley was by no means 
the highest he could find, but it was unquestionably the best. So it is 
with the lower Inspiration Point as a standpoint for the valley views. 

As the stages draw near the valley the excitement for the first peep 
runs high, and the non-communicativeness of the drivers is a serious 
aggravation. You think you see it, but are told you do not. However, 
you do see multitudes of magnificent views, some of them including 
snatches of the valley scenery ; but at last, whirling out of a well-wooded 
road and coming to a sudden halt on the very edge of a terrific precipice, 
the driver shouts, " Inspiration Point !" and before you realize it you are 
in the presence of magnificence ineifable. The first impression is that of 
enchantment. There is such a blending of depths and heights, of hard 
granite and soft foliage, of swaying waterfalls and eternal rocks, of snow- 
capped peaks and summer-decked vales! There are domes and half- 
domes, peaks and pinnacles, spires and columns and arches. The possi- 
bilities of rock-sculpturing seem to have been exhausted — here and there 
untouched masses to have been flung down in despair. There at the 
green bottom of the valley creeps the Merced River, but, as you see it, it 
is but a silver thread. Yonder is Yosemite Fall, like a line of whiteness 
down the mountain-side. Above it floats a fleecy cloud which seems to 
pour itself in snowy pureness down the cliff. And here is the Bridal 
Veil Fall ! See it float and sway and trail as in its misty leap of a thou- 
sand feet it is tossed by the passing breezes, like the veil of a human 
bride amid the breezes of a spring day. And here is El Capitan, " the 
Captain " indeed — bald, solid, stupendous, so unlike anything else about 
him ; a veritable commander, with a magnificent but obsequious follow- 
ing. "All hail, El Capitan!" rises instinctively to the lips as the hand 
unbidden tips the hat in deserved salute. And over all these charms, and 
many more, hangs the beautiful, soft, transparent atmosphere of Califor- 
nia's spring-time. You think you see a wonderful fancy sketch, and no 
real scene. You think you dream. You think you are under a spell of 
enchantment. You are ready to soar. In thought, in feeling, in soul, 
you do soar, until "All aboard!" is gruffly shouted by the driver, who 
casts off the brake, cracks his whip, and the clatter of iron shoes and the 
rattle of stage-wheels bring you back to the realities of life. Down, 
down, down we rumble to the bottom of the valley. 




VERNAL FALLS, YOSEMITE. 

BY THOMAS MORAS. 



YOSEMITE AND THE BIG TREES. 465 



IN THE VALLEY. 



Now that we are fairly in the valley, we may well look about and get 
some of its details clearly before us. The valley-bottom is about six 
miles long and from a half to three-quarters of a mile wide. The average 
height of the enclosing cliffs is more than the average width of the valley- 
bottom, so that the general resemblance is that of a trough deeper than 
wide. At the foot of the valley by which we entered the Merced River 
flows out by a rocky channel cut through towering mountains. At the 
head of the valley there are three branches or canons, which formerly 
were the beds of as many glaciers, as now they are of flowing streams. 
The walls of the valley proper are also broken more or less, and slashed 
with intersecting canons. The accumulation of debris around the valley 
is surprisingly small, though the position of many immense fragments 
shows that since the valley assumed substantially its present form there 
has been terrific earthquake agitation here. The entire length of the 
valley-bottom is beautifully wooded, many lordly pines rearing their 
heads as best they can among their overtowering surroundings. 
-. The Merced River is a clear, cool, deep stream. It abounds in trout, 
which are caught in large numbers by the Indians dwelling in the valley, 
and are supplied generously at the hotel-tables. The act governing these 
grounds forbids the leasing or sale of grounds to parties other than those 
connected in some way with the maintenance of the public park which, 
as mentioned above, this valley and the Mariposa Big Tree tract now 
form. A few of the Digger Indians dwell permanently in the valley, 
but they are a poor, low, shiftless party. A few white persons also 
usually winter here, and the summer resident population is possibly about 
two hundred. These are hotel-keepers and attendants, saddle-horse and 
stage proprietors, drivers, guides, storekeepers, barbers, photographers, etc. 

HOTELS. 

The three hotels of the valley are grouped about the vicinity of Yo- 
semite Fall, at the upper end of the valley proper. From the first to 
the last is about a mile by the wagon-road, and the Chapel, the President 
Guardian's dwelling, the Hall of the Guardians (official overseers of the 
park), photograph-galleries, curiosity and other stores, stables, cottages, 
and other paraphernalia of the village, are all grouped about this inter- 
vening mile. 

This first hotel as you enter the valley is known by the name of the 
proprietor, Liedig, who is a German. He furnishes good and well-served 



466 THE GREAT WEST. 

meals, but is a little crowded in bedrooms. His patrons uniformly speak 
well of him. Liedig and his family spend their winters in the valley, 
and he says he wishes to be buried close up under the Sentinel Rock, 
which is at the rear of his house. The second hotel is " Black's." Mr. 
Black is a Scotchman who has spent many years in California, and who 
owns considerable land in the vicinity of Yosemite. He gives his guests 
good rooms, and good food too. Everything about the place is well kept 
and in perfect order. From the front porch of his house a full view of 
the Yosemite Fall is had, from the lip where it pours over to the point 
where it disappears behind the intervening treetops. " Barnard's " is the 
last of the three hotels. It was formerly known as " Hutchings'," after 
the author of the first guidebook to the valley, who formerly kept this 
house. This, too, is a very satisfactory hotel, and possibly has a situation 
a trifle more favorable for immediate outlooks. The post-office and tele- 
graph-station of the valley are located here. Prices at these three hotels 
are about the same, three and a half and four dollars per day being the 
usual charges. The doubts of some as to their feeding capacity were dis- 
pelled in June, 1879, when the Pacific Sunday-school Institute Excursion 
party went into the valley some two hundred strong, but all were fed 
well, though some did sleep on the floor. 

DRIVES AND RIDES. 

Opportunities for driving are not numerous here. You can make the 
round trip of the valley and see the base of El Capitan and the foot of 
the several falls. This trip none should omit. From a point near the 
foot of Yosemite Fall the line of water, from where it breaks on the rocks 
before you to where it curves over the rock-lip 2640 feet above you, is 
clearly seen. The intervening cascades of the middle section are lost to 
view indeed, but the lower and the upper falls seem to blend in one, and 
you have the entire altitude in your view. From the Glacier Point Trail, 
on the opposite side of the valley, both falls and the central cascades are 
had in one view. The trip to the foot of Bridal Veil Fall should be 
made in the afternoon about four o'clock, so as to catch the finest effects 
of the sun. At this time you can approach to the very foot of the fall, 
and as the spray floats here and there in the breezes and the fall sways to 
and fro, rainbows of supreme magnificence will come and go, will glow 
and fade, will approach and recede, will multiply and disappear, until 
you fancy yourself in the very presence where rainbows are furnished for 
a world. All the foliage too is dripping with the spray, and sparkling as 
with myriads of gems. 



YOSEMITE AND THE BIO TREES. 467 

In this ride about the valley-bottom one finds time also to appreciate 
the uprightness and the downrightness of the surrounding cliffs. Their 
stupendousness grows upon one as he sees the fragments they have drop- 
ped — fragments large as the average church-edifice, and yet the face of 
the original rock scarce shows a flaw where once these fragments evidently 
rested. The fantastic forms of the rocks are appreciated also by one with 
a little poetry in his soul. The Three Brothers reminds one of three 
boys at play, leap-frog being the game, and instinctively one sighs to be 
a boy again, save only that the leap the boys seem about to take is a 
plunge of several thousand feet into the Merced River. Cathedral Rocks 
answer well to their name. The Spires are as fine a pair of twin spires 
as ever Nature carved ; Art might do the work with more exactness, but 
certainly not with equal solidity. The Sentinel is indeed the overseer of 
the valley. Half Dome and the Dome are names which suggest them- 
selves as the eye rests upon them. The designations South and North 
which they respectively bear are scarce needed. No one could question 
as to which peak is Cloud's Rest, nor which is The Captain (El Capitan), 
while the Royal Arches, Washington's Column, the Lost Arrow, and 
Liberty Cap are so well named that no change could be asked. 

The ride to Mirror Lake is a favorite trip. Parties go there to see the 
sun rise. They need not, however, make a painfully early start. Lie 
abed till daylight has come ; rise and dress deliberately, and get your 
breakfast; mount the hack at the door and ride up one of the head 
canons, known as the Tcnaya, about two miles, passing under the 
shadows of the Royal Arches, of Washington's Column, and of peaks 
which rear their heads above you a full half mile. In half an hour 
you reach the lake and stand upon the platform at the Lunch House. 
All is still ; the little lake seems insignificant, but mark its mirror-like 
smoothness. No French plate ever presented a better surface. Every 
tree, nay every leaf, is perfectly reproduced upon its bosom. Every rock 
with its moss-patches and its fissures is duplicated. The heavens are 
mirrored below you, and an abyss deep as the heavens are high yawns 
at your feet. You are face to face with the perpendicular side of the 
Half Dome. Its peak is 4737 feet above you. You see its inverted 
summit in the mirror below you. But see that brightening of its top. 
It glows as if volcanic fires were about to burst from it. They do burst 
forth. The top is encircled in a spreading glory. You are dazzled ; you 
close your eyes for the moment. You look again, and the peak is all 
right now, for the sun, though several hours high, has just risen beyond 
it. You pay fifty cents toll, and go home. 



468 THE GREAT WEST. 

Ascending the trails on horseback is no very serious exploit even for 
the inexpert. They are steep, and in many places alarmingly rough, but 
the horses which climb them are well-drilled beasts. Their movements, 
if not interfered with, are automatic. Mount them, sit solidly, keep your 
equilibrium and your patience, and you will by and by reach your desti- 
nation on the mountain-tops. All the desirable points about the valley 
may be thus approached. To reach some of them some hard hand-and- 
foot climbing must be done, but to most of them you can go without dis- 
mounting. Good footmen can reach any point with ease, saving horse- 
hire, but paying tolls and consuming more time. One of our party who 
wore an old-fashioned cork leg actually stumped his way to all the main 
peaks. In a few more years all these trails will be free. They have 
been built by private parties, who for compensation get toll for ten years. 
Then the work all reverts to the State. 

A SWEEPING VIEW. 

And now, before " Farewell " is said to this charmed scene, a general 
survey of its chief features may be appropriate. Entering the valley, El 
Capitan looms up upon the left a square, bold, clean block of granite 
3300 feet in height from the valley-bottom. Opposite, and less than 
half a mile distant at the base, are Cathedral Rocks, 2660 feet high ; the 
Spires rise 500 feet above this general altitude. Next beyond El Capitan 
are the Three Brothers, which lift their highest point 3830 feet above the 
valley. Nearly opposite these is The Sentinel, an obelisk-shaped rock 
towering to a height of 3043 feet. Still farther on upon the left is North 
Dome, 3568 feet above the valley. Nearly opposite this, Tenaya Canon 
and Mirror Lake intervening, is Half Dome, 4737 feet high. Beyond, 
forming the background in this canon, is Cloud's Rest, 6150 feet above 
•the valley. Other grand peaks tower heavenward around the valley, but 
back from its rim, several of them being over 13,000 feet in height. 

A final glance at the waterfalls and we leave the valley. Nearest to 
you as you stand on Inspiration Point is Ribbon Fall, which is a 
little rivulet trickling down the mountain-side and forming a pretty cas- 
cade, over 3000 feet in its entire altitude. A similar fall is near The 
Sentinel, and yet another on the opposite side of the valley, near its head. 
The water-supply of these falls is very small, however, and they dry out 
very early in the season. For height, however, they surpass all other 
waterfalls of the world. Bridal Veil, which lies just below Cathedral 
Rocks, has a descent of about 900 feet, two-thirds of this distance being 
in one clear leap, and the remainder being a steep cascade. For soft, 



YOSEMITE AND THE BIG TREES. 469 

gentle beauty this is the finest fall of the valley, and it is perennial. 
Almost opposite this, and sheltered by the flank of El Capitan, is an- 
other fall, almost the duplicate of Bridal Veil in appearance. It is in 
the guidebooks called Virgin's Tears, but in the valley they call it 
Widow's Tears, the drivers there affirming that it is so called because 
it flows for five or six weeks only. 

Cascades and rapids of most superb character abound along the Merced. 
Above the valley, and below, a lover of the beautiful may tarry long, 
and long to tarry longer, amid the water-views. Cascade Falls, a few 
miles below the foot of the valley, is a point visited by many. Yosemite 
Fall is the peerless queen of the valley; it is so approachable, it presents 
so many different views, it is so lofty, so voiceful, so changeful, so grand. 
Its admirers sit and gaze upon it for hours in worshipful silence. One 
loves to lie and listen to it in the hours of night ; and in the services of 
the Chapel in June, 1879, no moments were more impressive than when 
all sat in silence and listened to the voice of God in the waterfall. 

Passing out of the valley proper, and following up the Merced River, 
the Illilonette Fall is seen in the distance spouting forth a strong but 
narrow current of water, which plunges some 600 feet into a little trib- 
utary of the main stream. Following the trail of the river, however, 
one is brought, after a hard climb, to "Snow's," a most comfortable hotel, 
surrounded by towering cliffs and perched above the torrent of the Mer- 
ced just under the spray of the Nevada Fall. Here the river makes a 
plunge of 700 feet, and just below, at the Vernal Fall, it makes an un- 
broken leap of 400 more. Here is the holy of holies, so far as water- 
falls are concerned. Immensity, wildness, power, grandeur, are elements 
which enter into the composition of one's experiences here. Your adjec- 
tives are all flat. You look and wonder ; you look again and wonder 
more. Such a spot as Snow's is not to be found elsewhere. 

One need not take the circuit of the trail to reach this heart of the 
Merced. If he be protected by waterproof clothing or care not for a 
wetting in ice-water, he may push up the river's brink to the very foot 
of Vernal Fall, and thence by a* series of good, solid stairways he may 
ascend to the top, thus doing in half a mile what by the trail is five 
times as much. The writer took this shorter course, accompanied by a 
California lady. Compelled by the fury of the spray to pause frequent- 
ly, the grandeur of the place steadily impressed itself upon us. The 
face of the fall, full four hundred feet in height and one hundred in 
breadth, was a mass of shimmering whiteness. It reminded of the "great 
white throne " of which the Revelation tells. The roar and dash of the 



470 THE GREAT WEST. 

many waters drowned out every human utterance. It reminded of the 
" voice of the archangel and the trump of God/' at the sounding of which 
"every mouth shall be stopped." On either side the towering mountains 
shut us in, as at the last each man must be shut in with God before the 
throne. Rainbows of brightest hues and amplest breadth were playing 
everywhere, and we are told "there was a rainbow round about the 
throne." And not alone about the throne, but about us, who stood so 
insignificant there, these emblems of hope abounded. Gems of rarest 
lustre and richest color strewed the grass at our feet, dripped from the 
foliage about us, and glistened on our garments. One could but fancy 
himself at such a moment on the golden streets and amid the jewelled 
walls of the New Jerusalem. And here was one from the Atlantic 
shores and another from the Pacific ! And is it not said, " They shall 
come from the east and from the west" to that fair city? And we who 
were there that day were mutually dependent upon each other for that 
gladdening fact. Neither would have gone alone, but each went because 
the other did. Let the lesson learned beneath this "Shower of Dia- 
monds" — the Indian name for the Vernal Fall — be this: Let us all 
help each other to a hopeful place before the throne of God. 

" While Nature's pulse shall beat the dirge of time 
Thy domes shall stand, thy glorious waters chime. 
Farewell, Yosemite ! thy falls and sunlit towers 
Will rise like visions on my future hours." 




ALASKA. 

BY BRET HARTE. 



Where the short-legg'd Eskimo 

Waddle in the ice and snow, 

And the playful polar bear 

Nips the hunter unaware ; — 

Segment of the Frigid Zone, 

Where the temperature alone 

Warms on St. Elias' cone ; — 

Polar dock, where Nature slips 

From the ways her icy ships ; — • 

Land of fox and deer and sable ; — 

Shore-end of our Western cable, — 

Let the news that flying goes 

Thrill through all your Arctic floes, 

And reverberate the boast 

From the cliffs of Beechey's Coast, 

Till the tidings, circling round 

Every bay of Norton Sound, 

Throw the vocal tide-wave back 

To the isles of Kadiak. 

Let the stately polar bears 

Waltz around the Pole in pairs, 

And the walrus, in his glee, 

Bare his tusk of ivory ; 

All ye polar skies, reveal your 

Very rarest of parhelia ; 

Trip it, all ye merry dancers, 

In the airiest of Lancers ; 

Slide, ye solemn glaciers, slide 

One inch farther to the tide, 

Nor in rash precipitation 

Upset Tyndall's calculation. 

Know you not what fate awaits you, 

Or to whom the future mates you? 

All ye icebergs, make salaam — 

You belong to Uncle Sam. 



ALASKA AND ITS INHABITANTS 

BY REV. SHELDON JACKSON, D. D. 



IT was sundown as the California steamed out of the harbor of Vic- 
toria. Instead of putting out to sea through the Straits of San Juan 
de Fuca, the steamer headed to the north-east through the Haro Strait, 
winding in and out among a thousand islands, until we entered the 
broader Georgia Straits, and for three hundred miles our course lay- 
between Vancouver's Island and the main land, then between smaller 
islands and the main land, so that a trip of over a thousand miles is 
taken in salt water without ever getting to sea, the entire voyage being 
but little different from river-navigation. Entering Haro Strait, off to 
the east is San Juan Island, so long the boundary in dispute between the 
United States and Great Britain. 

Far off to the east, Mount Baker stood in the twilight a great white 
pyramid covered with snow, notwithstanding its internal fires are still 
burning. Its crater is now filled up with ashes. During the night we 
crossed the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, the imaginary line that 
separates the United States from the Dominion of Canada. In the 
morning we anchored at Nanaimo to take on coal for our long northern 
journey. The mines at this point during 1876 raised one hundred and 
forty thousand tons of coal. 

Alaska is an English corruption of Al-ak-shak of the natives, mean- 
ing " the great land." It is indeed a great land, covering over five hun- 
dred and eighty thousand square miles. It is the great island-region of 
the United States, rivalling in number and size the great archipelagoes 
of the Southern Pacific. These islands cover a total area of thirty-one 
thousand square miles. Stretching along the Aleutian Islands for one 
thousand five hundred miles are sixty-one volcanoes, ten of which are 
active. The magnificent Shishalden — nearly nine thousand feet above 

472 







A DEAD INDIAN CHIEF LYING IN STATE, ALASKA. 




EASTPORT, STICKEEN VILLAGE, FORT WRANGELL, ALASKA. 



ALASKA AND ITS INHABITANTS. 473 

the waves that break on either base — Akuten, Makushin, and others, are 
belching out fire and smoke. 

GLACIERS. 

This is the great glacier-region. From Bute Inlet to Unimak Pass 
nearly all the deep gulches have glaciers, some of which are vastly greater 
and grander than any glacier of the Alps. The American student need 
no longer go abroad to study glacial action. In one of the gulches of 
Mount Fairweather is a glacier that extends fifty miles to the sea, where 
it breaks off, a perpendicular ice-wall three hundred feet high and eight 
miles broad. Thirty-five miles above Wrangell, on the Stickeen River, 
between two mountains three thousand feet high, is an immense glacier 
forty miles long, and at the base four to five miles across, and variously 
estimated at from five hundred to one thousand feet high or deep. Oppo- 
site this glacier, just across the river, are large boiling springs. The 
Indians regard this glacier as the personification of a mighty Ice God, 
who has issued from his mountain-home invested with power before 
which all Nature bows in submission. They describe him as crashing 
his way through the canon where its glistening pinnacles bordered upon 
the domains of the Eiver God, and that after a conflict the Ice God con- 
quered, and spanned the river's breadth so completely that the Eiver God 
was forced to crawl underneath. The Indians then sent their medicine- 
man to see how this could be avoided. The answer came that if a noble 
chief and fair maiden would offer themselves a sacrifice by taking pas- 
sage under the long, dark, winding ice-arch, his anger would be appeased 
and the river be allowed to go on its way undisturbed. When the two 
were found and adorned, their arms bound and seated in the canoe, the 
fatal journey was made, and the ice has never again attempted to cross 
the river. At one of these glaciers ships from California have anchored 
and taken on a cargo of ice. It is also a great hot and mineral spring 
region ; medicinal springs abound in sufficient number and variety to 
treat the diseases of the whole race. Goreloi, one of these, is a vast 
smoking caldron eighteen miles in circumference. 



All the early navigators and explorers, from Cook to the present time, 
have spoken of the immense numbers of salmon, cod, herring, halibut, 
mullet, ulicon, etc. There are no other such fisheries in the known world. 
A missionary thus describes a fishing-scene on the Nasse River: "I 
went up to their fishing-grounds on the Nasse River, where some five 



474 THE GREAT WEST. 

thousand Indians had assembled. It was what is called their ' small fish- 
ing.' The salmon-catch is at another time. These small fish form a 
valuable article of food, and also for oil. They come up for six weeks 
only, and with great regularity. The Nasse, where I visited it, was about 
a mile and a half wide, and the fish had come up in great quantities — so 
great that with three nails upon a stick an Indian would rake in a canoe- 
ful in a short time. Five thousand Indians were gathered together from 
British Columbia and Alaska, decked out in their strange and fantastic 
costumes. Their faces were painted red and black, feathers on their heads 
and imitations of wild beasts on their dresses. Over the fish was an im- 
mense cloud of sea-gulls, so many and so thick, as they hovered about 
looking for fish, that the sight resembled a heavy fall of snow. Over the 
gulls were eagles soaring about and watching their chance. After the 
small fish, had come up larger fish from the ocean. There were the hali- 
but, the cod, the porpoise, and the fin-back whale. Man-life, fish-life, 
and bird-life — all under intense excitement. And all that animated life 
was to the heathen people a life of spirits. They paid court and wor- 
shipped the fish they were to assist in destroying, greeting them, ' You 
fish ! you fish ! you are all chiefs, you are.' The Christian Indians had 
their separate camps, where they had worship morning and evening, and 
kept the Sabbath." 



The principal fur-bearing animals of Alaska are the fox, marten, mink, 
beaver, otter, lynx, black bear, and wolverine. There are also the coarser 
furs of the reindeer, mountain-sheep, goat, wolf, muskrat, and ermine. 
The extent of the range and quality of the furs in that extensive North- 
ern region is conducive to a very valuable fur-trade, in addition to which 
are the seal-fur fisheries, that since 1871 have yielded to the government 
an income of $1,891,030. Besides 0ie fisheries and furs are the valuable 
deposits of coal, copper, sulphur, petroleum, and amber, with gold and 
silver. The gold and silver, so far, have been found only in limited 
quantities. 

It is also the great lumber-region of the country. The forests of yel- 
low cedar, white pine, hemlock, and balsam-fir will supply the world 
when the valuable timber of Puget Sound is exhausted. It has the great 
mountain-peak of the country (St. Elias), nineteen thousand five hundred 
feet high, and the great river of the country (the Yukon), one of the 
largest rivers of the world. 

Alaska is naturally divided into three great divisions — the Yukon 



ALASKA AND ITS INHABITANTS. 475 

division, comprised between the Alaska mountains and the Arctic Ocean ; 
the Aleutian district, comprising the Alaska peninsula and the Aleutian 
Islands ; and the Sitkan district, including all the main land and adjacent 
islands south of the peninsula. 



Each of these three great divisions has two climates — the coast climate 
and the interior climate, the latter being much severer than the former. 
The great Gulf Stream of the Pacific, known to geographers as the Japan 
Current, strikes and divides on the western end of the Aleutian Islands. 
A portion flows- north into Behring's Sea, so that it is a remarkable fact 
that ice does not flow from the Arctic Ocean southward through Behring's 
Straits. The other portion sweeps southward and eastward, and makes 
the whole North-west coast habitable, giving to Southern Alaska, on the 
coast and the adjacent islands, a winter climate milder than that of New 
York City. 

The Yukon district, bordering on the Arctic Ocean, is remarkable for 
one thing : from three to four feet below the surface there is a subsoil of 
frozen earth from six to eight feet deep. This phenomenon is ascribed to 
the want of drainage, together with a covering of moss that shields the 
ground from the hot sun of the Arctic summer ; and yet, notwithstand- 
ing this icy subsoil, during the summer months there is a luxuriant 
growth of vegetation. The great distinguishing feature of this district is 
the wonderful Yukon River, two thousand miles long, navigable for 
steamers for one thousand five hundred miles. In some places on the 
lower Yukon one bank is invisible from the other. A thousand miles 
above its mouth it is, in places, twenty miles wide, including the inter- 
vening islands. It is one of the great rivers of the world, and upon its 
upper waters, within the Arctic Circle, is Fort Yukon, a post of the Hud- 
son's Bay Company. At this far-distant post, which tidings from the out- 
side world only reach once a year, is a Scotch missionary. The British 
Church looks well after its own people. On its banks live thousands 
who know neither its outlet nor its source, and yet, recognizing its great- 
ness, proudly call themselves the " men of Yukon." 

ST. PAUL. 

The principal settlement is St. Paul, on Kadiak Island, but for po- 
litical purposes Sitka was made the capital of the Russian colonies in 
America, and as such has enjoyed a prominence that has made its name 
as familiar as that of Alaska itself. It has the largest foreign population 



476 THE GREAT WEST. 

and the best houses in the Territory. But times are very dull there now, 
and some of its citizens and trade are removing to Fort Wrangell. 

Cape Prince of Wales and the island of Alton are the extren^e western 
points of land in the United States, in longitude 167° 59' 12" — as far 
west from Portland or San Francisco as the extreme eastern point of 
Maine is east. 

FORT WRANGELL. 

This village of one hundred houses is on the north-western coast of 
Wrangell Island, at the mouth of the Stickeen River. Owing to the 
extensive gold-mines at Cassair, on the Stickeen River, it has become the 
chief business-centre of Alaska. The Cassair mines are employing this 
season about two thousand men, which creates considerable trade. For 
this trade Wrangell is at the end of ocean- and the commencement of river- 
navigation. Five ocean-vessels run between Portland and Wrangell and 
Victoria and Wrangell, and four small river-steamers run on the Stickeen 
River between Wrangell and the mines. The coast of Wrangell and the 
mouth of Stickeen River were first visited by the American ship Ata- 
hualpa of Boston in 1802, three years before Lewis and Clarke descended 
the Columbia. The permanent population is about one hundred whites 
and Russians and five hundred Indians. Besides these there are a large 
winter population of miners, and a floating Indian population of from 
five hundred to seven hundred more, there sometimes being from two 
thousand to three thousand Indians in the place. It is on the great high- 
way of the Indians to and from the mines, also to their hunting and fish- 
ing. This makes it a central point for the establishment of a mission to 
the Indians, as parties from several large tribes are almost always in the 
village. And to this point the providence of God led the Presbyterian 
Church for the establishment of the first American Protestant mission in 
Alaska. 

MISSION-WORK IN THE TERRITORY. 

On the 10th of August, 1878, Mrs. A. R. McFarland and myself landed 
at Fort Wrangell, and commenced the Presbyterian mission in Alaska. 
Arranging for the work, and placing Mrs. McFarland in charge of it, 
with Clah (a Tsimpseau Indian Christian from Fort Simpson, B. C.) as 
assistant, and Mrs. Sarah Dickinson, a Christian Tongas, as interpreter, I 
returned to the East. 

During the following fall and winter I published a lengthy series of 
newspaper articles and made public addresses in New York, Philadelphia, 
Washington, Chicago, St. Louis, and other large cities, creating such in- 




GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS, SITKA, ALASKA. 




GREEK CHURCH, SITKA, ALASKA. 



ALASKA AND ITS INHABITANTS. 477 

terest in Alaska that twelve thousand dollars were contributed toward the 
establishment of mission-schools in that section. I also addressed the 
theological seminaries, and secured the appointment, by the Board of 
Home Missions, of Rev. John G. Brady of New York City for Sitka, 
Alaska ; Rev. S. Hall Young of Parkersburg, W. Va., Rev. G. W. Lyons. 
I also secured a hearing before several committees of Congress in behalf 
of a government and schools for that section. This was followed up in 
the winters of 1879 and 1880. 

The Methodists and Baptists have also arranged to enter the mission- 
field in Alaska in 1880. 

NATIVE RACES. 

The native races in Alaska number about twenty-five thousand ; Rus- 
sians, three hundred or four hundred ; Americans and others, five hun- 
dred. The Indians can be divided into three great classes : the Innuit 
of Yukon district, the Aleutian, and the Tuski of the Sitkan district ; 
and these again are divided into tribes, settlements, and families. These 
are largely in a condition of degraded superstition, and liable to all the 
horrible cruelties of heathenism. The old, sick, and useless are put to 
death with various cruel and disgusting rites. 

The Indians are again subdivided into various families, each of which 
has its family badge. The badges are the whale, the porpoise, the eagle, 
the coon, the wolf, and the frog. These crests extend through different 
tribes, and their members have a closer relation to one another than the 
tribal connection. For instance, members of the same tribe may marry, 
but not members of the same badge. Thus, a Wolf may not marry into 
the Wolf family, but may into that of the Whale. 

Upon all public occasions they are seated according to their rank. This 
rank is distinguished by the height of the poles erected in front of their 
houses. The greater the chief, the higher his pole. Some of these poles 
are over one hundred feet high. Mr. Duncan the missionary relates how 
upon one occasion a head-chief of the Nasse River Indians put up a pole 
higher than his rank would allow. The friends of the chief whose head 
he would thus step over made fight with guns, and the over-ambitious 
chief was shot in the arm, which led him to quickly shorten his stick. 

Their houses are from twenty-five to forty feet square, without a win- 
dow, the only openings being a small door for entrance and a hole in the 
roof for the escape of the smoke. The door is three or four feet above 
the ground-level, and opens on the inside upon a broad platform which 
extends around the four sides. This platform contains their rolls of 



478 THE GREAT WEST. 

blankets, bedding, and other stores. Some of the houses have a second 
platform inside the first and a few steps lower. Then a few more steps 
down bring one to the inside square on the ground floor, which is also 
planked, with the exception of about four feet square in the centre, where 
the fire is built on the ground ; some few have a small inside room, look- 
ing as if it were a portion of the cabin of a wrecked vessel. The walls, 
and frequently roofs, are made of cypress plank from two to five feet 
wide and two to three inches thick. These planks are made by first split- 
ting the trees into great planks, then smoothing down these planks with 
a small adze. 

In front of their leading houses and at their burial-places are some- 
times immense posts covered with carvings. (Those who attended the 
Centennial will remember such posts.) These are the genealogical records 
of the family. The child usually takes the totem of the mother. For 
instance, at the bottom of the post may be the carving of a whale, over 
that a fox, a porpoise, and an eagle, signifying that the great-grandfather 
of the present occupant of the house, on his mother's side, belonged to 
the Whale family, the grandfather to the Fox family, the father to the 
Porpoise, and he himself to the Eagle family. These standards are from 
two to five feet in diameter, and often over sixty feet in height, and some- 
times cost from one to two thousand dollars. Formerly the entrance to 
the house was a hole through this standard, but latterly they are com- 
mencing to have regular doors hung on hinges. Among the Stickeens 
these badge-trees or totems are usually off to one side of the door. 

ALASKA CANOES. 

Alaska is celebrated for its canoes. Some of the largest of these ca- 
noes are from sixty to seventy-five feet long and eight to ten feet wide, 
and will carry one hundred people. One of these great canoes was on 
exhibition at the Centennial. The operation of making one is thus de- 
scribed: "Having selected a sound tree and cut it the desired length, the 
outside is first shaped, then the tree is hollowed out till the shell is of 
proper thickness ; this is done with a tool resembling a grubbing-hoe or 
narrow adze with a short handle. It is then filled with water, which is 
heated by throwing in hot stones. The canoe is then covered with a can- 
vas to keep the steam in — this softens the timber — and the sides are dis- 
tended by cross-sticks to the desired breadth at the centre and tapering 
toward the ends in lines of beautiful symmetry. It is finished oif with 
a highly ornamental figure-head, and the bulwarks strengthened by a 
fancy covering-board." 



ALASKA AND ITS INHABITANTS. 470 

ORNAMENTS. 

Many natives paint their faces with lampblack and oil, which gives 
them a very repulsive appearance. They have a great variety of house- 
hold utensils, made from the horns of mountain-sheep and goats, from 
ivory, and from wood. Polygamy is common among the rich. Upon 
arriving at a marriageable age the lower lip of the girl is pierced and a 
silver pin inserted, the flat head of the pin being in the mouth and the 
pin projecting through the lip over the chin. Many of them, men as 
well as women, wear a silver ring in the nose as well as the ears. After 
marriage the silver pin is removed from the woman's lip, and a spool- 
shaped plug, called labaret, about three-quarters of an inch long, is sub- 
stituted in its place. As she grows older larger ones are inserted, so that 
an old woman may have a plug two inches in diameter. 

MARRIAGE. 

A man wanting a wife sends a message to that effect to the girl's rela- 
tions. If he receives a favorable answer he sends them all the presents 
he can procure. Upon the appointed day he goes to her father's house 
and sits down on the doorstep with his back to the house. The relations 
who have assembled there sing a marriage-song, at the close of which furs 
and calico are laid across the floor, and the girl is escorted over them from 
the corner where she has been sitting, and takes her seat by the side of 
the man. Then dancing, singing, and eating are kept up by the guests 
until they are tired. In these festivities the couple take no part. After 
this they fast for two days, and then after a slight repast they fast for two 
days more. Four weeks afterward they come together and are recognized 
as husband and wife. 

POLYGAMY. 

Polygamy, with all its attendant evils, is common among the Kadiaks. 
These wives are often sisters. Sometimes a man's own mother or daughter 
is among his wives. If a man's wife bears him only daughters, he con- 
tinues to take other wives until he has sons. One of the Nasse chiefs is 
said to have had forty wives. After marriage they are practically slaves 
of their husbands. Their persons are at the disposal of visitors or trav- 
ellers, guests of their husbands. They are sometimes, in Southern Alaska, 
sent to the mines, while the husband lives in idleness at home on the 
wages of their immorality. If ill-behaved, excessively lazy, or barren, 
they are sent away. Sometimes they are traded off by the husband for 



480 THE GREAT WEST. 

something he may desire. In childbirth, when needing the most tender 
care, they are driven out of the house as unclean, and kept for ten days 
in an uncomfortable hut without attention. 

When a young girl arrives at maturity she is considered unclean. 
Everything she comes in contact with, and even the sky she looks 
upon, is considered unclean. She is therefore thought to be unfit for 
the sun to shine upon, and is confined for a year in a hut so small that 
she cannot stand upright in it. Only the girl's mother is allowed to ap- 
proach her, and she only to bring her food. Around Sitka this period 
has been shortened to three months. At the close of this imprisonment 
she is taken out, her old clothes burned, new ones provided, and a feast 
given, during which a slit is cut in the under lip parallel with the mouth, 
and a piece of wood or shell inserted to keep the aperture extended. 

In some sections all the work but hunting and fighting falls upon the 
women, even the boys transferring their loads and work to their sisters. 
Said a great chief, " Women are made to labor. One of them can haul 
as much as two men. They pitch our tents, make and mend our cloth- 
ing," etc. 

SLAVES. 

And, as if their ordinary condition was not bad enough, the majority 
of the slaves are women. The men captured in Avar are usually killed 
or reserved for torture, but the women are kept as beasts of burden, and 
often treated with great inhumanity. The master's power over them is 
unlimited. He can torture or put them to death at will. Sometimes, 
upon the death of the master, one or more of them are put to death, that 
he may have some one to wait upon him in the next world. 



Between the houses and the higher land back of them are a number 
of boxes about five feet by two in size, raised on four posts a few feet 
from the ground; also small frame houses, like an old-fashioned smoke- 
house, four feet square. These are the graves of the chiefs and shamans 
(sorcerers). One of them was surmounted by a wooden figure of a whale 
ten feet long ; another had a figure of an immense frog ; others had the 
genealogy of the dead painted upon them. 

The bodies of the dead are disjointed and burned. The funeral cere- 
monies of the wealthy often last four days. Dead slaves are cast into 
the sea. They believe in the transmigration of souls from one body to 
another, but not to animals. And the wish is often expressed that in the 




INDIAN BUIUAL-GKOUND AT FOIIT WIIANGELL, ALASKA. 




UNITED STATES BONDED WAREHOUSE, FORT WRANGELL, ALASKA. 



ALASKA AND ITS INHABITANTS. 481 

next change they may be born into this or that powerful family. Those 
whose bodies are burned are supposed to be warm in the next world, and 
the others cold. If slaves are sacrificed at a burial, it relieves their 
owners from work in the next world. 



FOOD. 

Their food consists largely of berries and fish. Large quantities of 
salmon are smoked and put away for future use. They also prepare 
large quantities of fish oil. Some years ago a party of them, having 
seen the cooks on ships mix up flour and bake it into bread, got pos- 
session of a barrel of lime from a shipwrecked vessel. A portion of 
this was mixed up as they had seen the cooks do, and baked and 
boiled and boiled and baked, but to their great disgust nothing eat- 
able came from it. 

WIDOW-BURNING. 

Among the Nehaunes and Talcolins, when a man dies his widow is 
compelled to ascend the burning funeral-pile, throw herself upon the 
body, and remain there until the hair is burned from her head and 
she is almost suffocated. She is then allowed to stagger from the pile, 
but must frequently thrust her hand through the flames and place it 
upon his bosom, to show her continued devotion. Finally, the ashes 
are gathered up and placed in a little sack, which the widow carries 
on her person for two years. During this period of mourning she is 
clothed in rags and treated as a slave. 

MURDER OF THE OLD AND FEEBLE. 

• Among the Chuckees the old and feeble are sometimes destroyed. 
This is done by placing a rope around the neck and dragging them over 
the stones. If this does not kill, then the body is stoned or speared and 
left to be eaten by the dogs. Occasionally the old ask to be killed. 
Then they are taken, stupefied with drugs, and, in the midst of various 
incantations, bled to death. 



WOMEN DENIED BURIAL. 

Among the Tuski and many of the Orarian tribes the bodies of good 
men are buried and the ashes carefully preserved. But in some sections, 
where wood is scarce, the bodies of women are not considered worth the 
wood that would be consumed in the burning, and they are either cast 

31 



482 THE GREAT WEST. 

out to be consumed by the dogs, foxes, and crows, or cast into the sea as 
food for the fishes. 

A summary cure for crying babies is to take them to the seashore and 
hold them in the water until they cease crying. As soon as they can 
walk children are bathed in the sea daily, and they learn to swim about 
as quickly as to walk. Festivals are given on erecting a new house, 
naming of children, marriages, deaths, etc. These festivals consist of 
dancing, singing, and feasting. Some of them are so expensive as to 
impoverish a whole circle of relatives. 

SHAMANS. 

Sorcery seems universal among all uncivilized people, prevailing alike 
in Asia, Africa, America, and the islands of the sea. The words and 
actions of the shaman are considered infallible. The office is often 
hereditary, the son inheriting from the father the various paraphernalia 
of drums, rattles, masks, charms, etc The young man that would 
become a shaman, according to Dall, secludes himself for a time in the 
woods, living on roots. He then claims that a master-spirit has sent an 
otter to him, which he kills. The skin of the otter becomes his badge 
of office ; the tongue is placed in a bag prepared for the purpose and 
carefully concealed as a charm, for was an uninitiated person to look 
upon it he would immediately lose his senses. If solitude and low diet 
do not bring power, the young shaman spends a night at the grave of an 
old shaman, taking a tooth or finger from the corpse and holding it in 
his mouth to more readily compel the attendance of the spirits. The 
honor of the shaman depends upon the number of spirits he can control. 
He has a separate mask, songs, and dances for each. His hair is never 
to be cut. 

From Dall we also receive the following specimen performance : " On 
the day appointed for the exhibition of his power his relations, who act 
the part of a chorus of singers, are obliged not only to fast, but also use 
a feather as an emetic to free themselves entirely from food. The per- 
formance commences at sunset and lasts until sunrise. All who wish to 
participate assemble in the lodge of the shaman, where they join in a song, 
to which time is beaten on a drum. Dressed in his paraphernalia, with 
a mask over his face, the shaman rushes round and round the fire which 
is burning in the centre of the lodge. He keeps his eyes directed toward 
the opening in the roof, and keeps time to the drum with violent motions 
of his limbs and body. These movements gradually become more con- 
vulsive ; his eyes roll until the whites alone are visible. Suddenly he 



ALASKA AND ITS INHABITANTS. 483 

stops, looks intently at the drum, and utters loud cries. The singing 
ceases, and all ears are strained to catch the utterances, which are sup- 
posed to be inspired. By changing the masks he places himself en rap- 
port with the spirit to which each mask is dedicated. It is believed that 
this spirit inspires for a moment all the utterances, which are supposed to 
be sacred." 

When a shaman dies his body is left for a day in each of the four 
corners of his room ; on the fifth day it is carried out, dressed in the 
costume of his order, and deposited in one of the small burial-houses 
spoken of previously. His body is not burned. 

CANNIBALS. 

The Indians are held in abject fear of the conjurers or medicine-men. 
Some of the scenes to be constantly witnessed on that coast are thus de- 
picted by Mr. Duncan of the Church Missionary Society, British Colum- 
bia : " The other day we were called upon to witness a terrible scene. An 
old chief in cold blood ordered a slave to be dragged to the beach, mur- 
dered, and thrown into the water. His orders were quickly obeyed. The 
victim was a poor woman. Two or three reasons are assigned for this 
foul act. One is, that it is to take away the disgrace attached to his 
daughter, who has been suffering for some time with a ball-wound in the 
arm. Another report is that he does not expect his daughter to recover, 
so he has killed this slave in order that she may prepare for the coming 
of his daughter into the unseen world. I did not see the murder, but 
immediately after saw crowds of people running out of the houses near 
to where the corpse was thrown, and forming themselves into groups at a 
good distance away, from fear of what was to follow. Presently two bands 
of furious wretches appeared, each headed by a man in a state of nudity. 
They gave vent to the most unearthly sounds, and the two naked men 
made themselves look as unearthly as possible, proceeding in a creeping 
kind of stoop and stepping like two proud horses, at the same time shoot- 
ing forward each arm alternately, which they held out at full length for 
a little time in the most defiant manner. Besides this, the continual jerk- 
ing of their heads back, causing their long black hair to twist about, added 
much to their savage appearance. For some time they pretended to be 
seeking for the body, and the instant they came where it lay they com- 
menced screaming and rushing around it like so many angry wolves. 
Finally they seized it, dragged it out of the water, and laid it on the 
beach, where they commenced tearing it to pieces with their teeth. The 
two bands of men immediately surrounded them, and so hid their horrid 



484 THE GREAT WEST. 

work. In a few minutes the crowd broke again, when each of the naked 
cannibals appeared with half of the body in his hands. Separating a 
few yards, they commenced, amid horrid yells, their still more horrid 
feast of eating the raw dead body. The two bands of men belonged to 
the class called 'medicine-men.' 

"I may mention that each party has some characteristic peculiar to 
itself, but in a more general sense their divisions are but three — viz. those 
who eat human bodies, the dog-eaters, and those who have no custom of 
the kind. Early in the morning the pupils would be out on the beach or 
on the rocks in a state of nudity. Each had a place in front of his own 
tribe, nor did intense cold interfere in the slightest degree. After the 
poor creature had crept about, jerking his head and screaming for some 
time, a party of men would rush out, and, after surrounding him, would 
commence singing. The dog-eating party occasionally carried a dead dog 
to their pupil, who forthwith commenced to tear it in the most doglike 
manner. The party of attendants kept up a low growling noise or a 
whoop, which was seconded by a screeching noise made from an instru- 
ment which they believe to be the abode of a spirit. In a little time the 
naked youth would start up again and proceed a few more yards in a 
crouching posture, with his arms pushed out behind him and tossing his 
flowing black hair. All the while he is earnestly watched by the group 
about him, and when he pleases to sit down they again surround him and 
commence singing. This kind of thing goes on, with several different 
additions, for some time. Before the prodigy finally retires he takes a 
run into every house belonging to his tribe, and is followed by his train. 
When this is done, in some cases he has a ramble on the tops of the same 
houses, during which he is anxiously watched by his attendants, as if they 
expect his flight. By and by he condescends to come down, and then 
they follow him to his den, which is marked by a rope made of red bark 
being hung over the doorway, so as to prevent any person from ignorantly 
violating its precincts. None are allowed to enter that house but those 
connected with the art ; all I know, therefore, of their further proceed- 
ings is, that they keep up a furious hammering, singing, and screeching 
for hours during the day. 

"Of all these parties none are so much dreaded as the cannibals. One 
morning I was called to witness a stir in the camp which had been caused 
by this set. When I reached the gallery I saw hundreds of Tsimpseau 
sitting in their canoes, which they had just pushed away from the beach. 
I was told that the cannibal party was in search of a body to devour, and 
if they failed to find a dead one, it was probable that they would seize the 



ALASKA AND ITS INHABITANTS. 



485 



first living one that came in their way ; so that all the people living near 
to the cannibal's house had taken to their canoes to escape being torn to 
pieces. It is the custom among these Indians to burn their dead, but I 
suppose for these occasions they take care to deposit a corpse somewhere 
in order to satisfy these inhuman wretches. 

" These, then, are some of the things and scenes which occur in the day 
during the winter months, while the nights are taken up with amusements 
— sinking and dancing. Occasionally the medicine-parties invite people 
to their several houses and exhibit tricks before them of various kinds. 
Some of the actors appear as bears, while othefs wear masks, the parts of 
which are moved by strings. The great feature in their proceedings is to 
pretend to murder, and then to restore to life, and so forth. The canni- 
bal, on such occasions, is generally supplied with two, three, or four human 
bodies, which he tears to pieces before his audience. Several persons, 
either from bravado or as a charm, present their arms for him to bite. I 
have seen several whom he has thus bitten, and I hear two have died from 
the effects." 




ALASKA. 

BY IVAN PETKOFF. 



THE greatest of the Territories of the Great West, in size, is Alaska, 
with its stupendous area of five hundred thousand square miles and 
a length of coast-line, including islands, that reaches far into the thou- 
sands of miles. A bold semicircle embracing fifty degrees of longitude 
affords a firm hold upon the North Pacific, while another sweeping curve 
commands the Behring Sea, so that the only thing lacking to make Alaska 
a territory of the highest strategical importance and the North Pacific an 
American sea is the absorption of British Columbia in the United States 
— an event that may be looked for with certainty in the future. 

EARLY HISTORY. 

Though occupied by the Russians for a century before falling into our 
hands, Alaska is still in the first stages of development. Its population 
is not as large now as it was when Behring and Chirikoff gave to the 
world the knowledge of the north-western extremity of this continent in 
1741. For half a century the islands and a few points on the main land 
were ruthlessly stripped of their fur-bearing animals by Promyshleniks, 
the semi-savage hunters and trappers of Siberia, who navigated these 
waters in the most wretched craft in search of valuable furs. They were 
commercial freebooters — robbers under pretext of a legitimate business — 
who respected no rights which the native inhabitants might have claimed. 
Whole villages and tribes were compelled by force of arms to send out 
all able-bodied hunters to labor for the invaders, who in the mean time 
enjoyed their leisure in settlements containing only women and children. 
Even the illiterate traders of those times perceived that such proceedings 
would speedily put an end to all business in their new field of operations. 
Influence was brought to bear upon the Russian government, and by the 

486 



ALASKA. 487 

end of the last century all that region now called Alaska, together with 
a portion of the opposite coast of Asia and the Kurile Islands, was given 
into the hands of one powerful corporation, the Russian American Com- 
pany. 

The chaos of crime and anarchy theretofore existing was gradually 
changed into the strictest discipline and order, and wherever the fur-bear- 
ing animals had not become entirely extinct their number was slowly 
made to increase again by careful and systematic management. But while 
one of the chief resources of the country was being thus carefully nursed 
and made to support the people, no other item of natural wealth was 
looked for, or even allowed to develop itself. The nature of the fur- 
trade is not such as to stimulate immigration into the region where it is 
carried on ; the deepest solitude is necessary to its prosperous prosecution ; 
and consequently during the long reign of the Russian monopoly — 
which was absolute, with almost sovereign rights — there was no increase 
of population, no industrial development. 

In this condition the Russian colonies in America remained until the 
discovery of gold in California, when some attempts were made to furnish 
not only Russian manufactured goods, but lumber and fish, for the new 
market with its rapidly-increasing demand. The first ventures of this 
kind met with success, but gradually bad management and competition 
curtailed the profits, and the shipments were discontinued. Then, with 
the assistance of another company, organized in San Francisco, experi- 
ments on a large scale were made in working the coal-veins of Cook's 
Inlet and Ounga Island and carrying ice to the rapidly-growing metropolis 
of the Pacific. One of the governors of the colony, a mining engineer, 
entered into a contract with the company to develop the copper-ledges on 
Copper River and any other mines he might discover. But all these enter- 
prises came to nothing, owing partly to the unsettled state of affairs when 
the third term of the company's charter expired in 1861. The corpora- 
tion refused to renew the contract without some change of conditions, to 
which the government could or would not agree, though unwilling to 
assume control of the colony, that had until then been wholly supported 
by the company without any expense to the imperial treasury. 

When at last a way out of the difficulty was pointed out by an offer 
on the part of the United States to purchase the territory, Russia was 
only too glad to accede to the proposition, and after some diplomatic skir- 
mishing and a spirited fight in our national legislature the territory was 
purchased in 1867 for the sum of seven million two hundred thousand 
dollars. 



488 THE GREAT WEST. 



GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 



To convoy to the reader an adequate idea of what this our latest acqui- 
sition really is, it is necessary to describe it in sections, the Territory as a 
whole being too vast in dimensions, and too widely differing in the 
nature and resources of its component parts, to admit of being treated 
collectively. 

The only section of Alaska now open to the tourist by means of regular 
mail-communication is the labyrinth of islands extending from the bound- 
ary-line, under latitude 54° 40' N., along the coast in a north-westerly 
direction as far as Sitka, or Baranof Island. To the visitor beholding 
this region from the deck of a passing steamer it appears a mass of abrupt 
peaks, gathered in chains or forming separate islets, densely wooded from 
base to summit, varying in elevation from one thousand to five thousand 
feet above the sea, and even attaining to a greater height on some of the 
larger islands. For hundreds of miles not an acre of level ground is 
visible. Fleecy banks of fog climb up the towering heights in lines of 
battle, one after the other, only to descend on the other side, as if power- 
less to resist the attraction of kindred moisture latent in the rank vegeta- 
tion and moss-covered soil. Cascades white with foam descend the 
sombre-hued declivities, appearing like living satin ribbons fluttering 
down from the mountains' snowy caps into the deep-green water of 
almost bottomless channels and reaches. Here and there a "slide" 
has left an ugly scar across the face of a verdant island, but the mark 
of the axe is nowhere to be seen. Timber sufficient in quantity to supply 
generations of a dense population with fuel and lumber is apparently 
wasted here, with no other effect than to make the interior impenetrable 
to traveller, prospector, and hunter alike. 

But, wild as this part of the Territory appears, it is by no means with- 
out value. Food-fishes of various kinds, the staple provender of mil- 
lions on the other side of the Pacific, abound here in great profusion, 
ensuring a constant increase of supply corresponding with that of demand 
for ages to come — a wealth that will become available long before the 
product of Alaskan forests can pay for labor and transportation. Scien- 
tific examination of well-known geologists has established the fact that 
the rugged mountains on this part of the coast and the hundreds of rocky 
islands scattered along its curves are outrunners of the same gigantic chain 
that has poured into the lap of the world the countless millions of 
Comstock bullion. 



ALASKA. 489 



SETTLEMENTS. 

Wrangell, the first settlement worthy of the name that greets the 
traveller entering Alaska from the south-east, bears the name of one of 
the former governors of the Russian possessions, who was also an admiral 
of the imperial navy and an Arctic explorer. The Russian Company had 
established a trading-post here, named the Redoute St. Dionys, which, 
together with a strip of the continental coast as far north as the Takoo 
River, was leased for years to the Hudson's Bay Company. In 1867 the 
Russian buildings were already in an advanced stage of decay, and the 
military authorities of the United States erected a fort near by, which 
was named Fort Wrangell. A village of traders sprang up between the 
native settlement and the fort, and became known under the same appel- 
lation. For years Fort Wrangell has existed, and to a certain extent 
prospered, upon the transit-trade between British Columbia and the 
Cassiar mining district, which up to last year necessitated a transship- 
ment of all goods at Wrangell from ocean- to river-craft. The United 
States bonded warehouse did a lucrative business, and the merchants, 
who were not above turning an additional penny in smuggling opera- 
tions, were flourishing correspondingly. Last year, however, a severe 
blow fell upon the little community. Business-men of Victoria, B. C, 
built a side-wheel steamer of such light draught as to permit it to pro- 
ceed up the Stickeen River and land English goods just beyond the 
boundary-line, and with a defiant whistle the Western Slope paddled by 
the astonished and much-dismayed traders of Wrangell before they had 
fairly realized that the thing was possible. The Americans interested in 
the Cassiar trade justly claim that the boundary was arbitrarily located 
by English surveyors for this very purpose, but several petitions on the 
subject have heretofore received no attention from our State Department. 

The village of Wrangell is decidedly " rough," in appearance as well 
as with regard to the character of its inhabitants. Ten stores, with inter- 
vening dwellings and saloons, describe an irregular curve along the beach, 
flanked on either side by long rows of Indian houses. What should be 
the street is only a swampy receptacle of filth and garbage, with hogs and 
crows as the only scavengers. Winter cabins of miners and shanties of 
semi-civilized natives and half-breeds dot the space intervening between 
the stores and a steep wooded hill, the buildings being located with a 
view to avoid all interference with stumps and boulders. The " fort," 
with its substantial building erected by the government, has fallen into 
private hands, and the only other structures of any pretension are the 



490 THE GREAT WEST. 

custom-house (a weatherbeaten one-story frame cottage), a Roman Catholic 
church, and a church and other buildings constructed last year by the 
Presbyterian mission. Both organizations have gained adherents among 
the resident and visiting Indians of the vicinity, but so far the Presby- 
terians, under superintendence of Rev. H. S. Young, have met with the 
greater success. All the rough lumber for the buildings was supplied by 
a sawmill on Prince of Wales Island, not very far from Wrangell. "With 
the exception of a few men engaged in curing and exporting herring and 
codfish, the people of the town now depend almost entirely upon the fur- 
trade with the Indians for their subsistence. 

The present terminus of the only Alaska mail-route is Sitka, the for- 
mer seat of government, and now the residence of the collector of cus- 
toms. The quartz-ledges in the immediate vicinity of Sitka, now fast 
being developed and making shipments of bullion, have caused a consid- 
erable increase of population during the past year. A large number of 
miners who had been disappointed in the Cassiar diggings have located 
at Sitka, and prospecting is carried on extensively and in the most thor- 
ough manner. One mill of ten stamps, worked by steam-power, is in 
active operation on the Stewart Ledge, owned by Oregon capitalists, and 
several other firms are about to purchase machinery for their respective 
ledges. A salmon-canning establishment has been in operation for seve- 
ral years with gratifying success under the auspices of Cutting & Co. of 
San Francisco. 

The town of Sitka is far superior to "Wrangell in appearance and di- 
mensions. Under the Russian rule buildings were erected in the most 
substantial manner, and those in private hands are still in a good state 
of preservation, but nearly all the government houses are sadly in need 
of repairs. 

The abundance of fish in the harbor of Sitka, especially the immense 
swarms of fat herrings that throng the water in their season, attracts large 
numbers of natives from other islands, and even from the continent. At 
such times the Indian village adjoining the town doubles and trebles its 
usual population of from eight hundred to a thousand, and as these vis- 
itors bring with them a quantity of valuable furs to exchange for goods, 
dried fish, and oil, the business-men of Sitka derive benefit from the fish 
in their harbor in more ways than one. 

It is difficult to ascertain the exact population of the town, which has 
of late been much increased by an influx of miners and prospectors, who 
may or may not become permanent residents. The Creoles and Russians, 
or the members of the Russian Church, number about three hundred, 



ALASKA. 491 

while the representatives of other nationalities at present probably exeeed 
that number. 

The Russian cathedral, of very modest external appearance, displays 
in its interior and ecclesiastic paraphernalias something of the former 
grandeur of the capital of Russia's possessions in America. A school for 
both creole and American children is maintained by the joint efforts of 
citizens and the officer in command of the man-of-war stationed in the 
harbor. 

From Sitka northward and westward the coast describes a semicircle 
about six hundred miles in diameter. The eastern half of this curve is 
almost inaccessible and presents the most forbidding appearance. Gla- 
ciers extend from the stupendous mountain-ridges to the sea, filling the 
valleys and ravines, and on every hand the forest bears marks of the 
storms that expend their fury on these shores after traversing the vast 
Pacific, and of the slow but irresistible encroachment of glacier ice. Up 
to the mouth of Copper River this range of country is uninhabited, ex- 
cept in the far interior, but in the northern part of the vast bight now 
under contemplation, familiarly known as Prince William Sound, a more 
deeply-indented coast-line and numerous islands have served to attract 
and maintain a sparse pojmlation of seal and sea-otter hunters, scattered 
in minute settlements over a large area, with Fort Constantine, on Nu- 
chek Island, as their central and business place. Two rival trading-firms 
maintain establishments here, and are visited at certain seasons by In- 
dians from the head-waters of Copper River in canoes loaded down with 
beaver and otter skins ; but all attempts to locate trading-posts on that 
river, or to examine the deposits of copper known to exist there, have 
so far been firmly resisted by the natives. To the credit of the latter it 
must be acknowledged that they have contented themselves with robbing 
the intruders of their possessions and sending them about their business, 
without resorting to further acts of violence. 

On the western side of the Sound, or on the east coast of the Kenai 
Peninsula, the shore is indented by deep harbors and covered with a lux- 
uriant growth of spruce forest. Here the Russians built as early as 1794 
a three-masted ship, the first of that class ever constructed on the North- 
west coast. The ship was named the Phoenix, and made many voyages 
between the Russian possessions on both continents. 

"West of the Kenai Peninsula lies the spacious arm of the sea known 
as Cook's Inlet, named after the famous navigator, who entered it in the 
hope of having discovered the long-sought passage from the Pacific into' 
Hudson's Bay or the Atlantic. After some futile efforts to penetrate in 



492 THE GREAT WEST. 

an easterly direction, Cook considered that he had found only the mouth 
of a large river, and the true nature of that sheet of water was not pro- 
claimed to the world until Vancouver's visits in 1793 and '94, though 
the Russians had been thoroughly acquainted with the facts for many 
years prior to that period. 

Cook's Inlet has been called by superficial observers the " Garden of 
Alaska," simply because from the deck of a steamer they saw vast ver- 
dant plains on its eastern shore. An examination of these " enchanting 
prairies " proves them to be morass covered with grass, moss, and heather, 
and a further investigation of the soil with the help of a spade will pro- 
duce frozen earth and ice at a depth of eighteen or twenty inches even in 
midsummer. Nevertheless, potatoes and other hardy vegetables are cul- 
tivated at various points on the Inlet, but it is done only on the banks 
of ravines or other slopes with a southern exposure, affording an oppor- 
tunity to the sun to thaw and heat up the surface. The timber on the 
east coast is stunted, but increases in size as one advances into the interior. 
The west coast of the Inlet is mountainous and densely wooded. Several 
volcanic peaks loom up to towering heights, proclaiming their vitality by 
occasional puffs of smoke and rumbling noises. Sulphur deposits and 
indications of silver-ore have been found in these mountains, and the 
forests abound in game. 

The inhabitants scattered in small villages around the whole Inlet do 
not exceed six hundred in number, and are mostly Creoles and natives. A 
little settlement of five Russian families, descendants of former employes 
of the Russian Company, exists on the east coast at the mouth of a small 
stream, and is named on our maps Fort St. George, though the real name 
of the place is Niniltchik. 

The salmon caught in all rivers and creeks emptying into the Inlet are 
of excellent quality and truly magnificent size, specimens weighing from 
eighty to one hundred pounds being by no means of rare occurrence. 
The " run " of the salmon in this neighborhood continues from the end 
of May to the end of July. 

Two trading-firms have permanent stations at various points on Cook's 
Inlet, and a third, located at Kadiak, scours the coast regularly with 
small schooners — a state of affairs that momentarily benefits the natives, 
who receive absurdly high prices for their furs, while it drives the tra- 
ders to resort to trickery in order to make any profit at all ; and added to 
these unsatisfactory results must be certain extirpation of fur-bearing 
animals to supply the demand at fancy prices. 

At English Bay, near the mouth of the Inlet, the Russians expended 



ALASKA. 493 

much time and money in developing the coal-veins. A thorough test 
proved the quantity to be all that could be desired, but the work was 
much impeded by water, the vein dipping below the level of the sea, but 
a few hundred yards distant. The principal reason for abandoning the 
work was, however, the inferior quality of the coal and the impossibility 
of finding a market for it. 

South of Cook's Inlet, and only five hundred and fifty miles in a 
direct line from Sitka, is the island of Kadiak (mistakenly named 
Kodiak). This, with the adjoining Afognak and Wood Islands, forms 
the most agreeable and pleasant section of the Territory as a place of 
residence. The winters are less cold than at Cook's Inlet, and the sum- 
mers less moist and overcast than at Sitka. The soil, also, is far superior 
to that of either of the places mentioned, enabling hundreds of families 
to cultivate potato-patches and vegetable gardens as a most acceptable 
addition to the products of sea and forest. The comparatively dry sum- 
mer permits the conversion of the luxuriant grasses into hay for the sub- 
sistence of beef-cattle during the winter, and in some sheltered valleys 
the animals find their own feed all through the year. Salmon and cod- 
fish throng the waters in incredible quantities. 

The principal port and the residence of a deputy collector of customs 
is at St. Paul, a village of five or six hundred inhabitants. The settle- 
ment was founded at the end of the last century, and was the seat of 
government of the Russian colonies until the subsequent establishment 
of Sitka. Some of the old buildings, constructed of logs of gigantic 
size, still remain, but a majority of the houses are new and quite neat, 
and altogether the village would compare favorably with most Euro- 
pean fishing-hamlets in outward appearance. 

At Afognak, separated from the north end of Kadiak by a narrow 
strait, there is quite a large settlement of Creoles, whose "acres" have 
been transmitted from father to son for several generations. They sell 
potatoes, turnips, hay, and butter, and many of them are expert boat- 
builders, and are patronized by fishermen and traders in all that section 
of country. On Spruce and Wood Islands the settlements are composed 
chiefly of Aleuts, who rely more upon the sea for their subsistence, though 
small gardens are attached to most of the houses. At the last-named 
point a firm familiarly known as the " Ice Company " (its official name 
is the American Russian Commercial Company) has a complete and ex- 
tensive ice-packing establishment. Of two large ice-houses, capable of 
holding thousands of tons, one is annually filled, but under an agreement 
with San Francisco ice-producers (probably for a consideration) no ship- 



494 THE GREAT WEST. 

ments have been made for over ten years. This company also has a large 
store, some outlying stations, and sends out hunting-parties in quest of 
sea-otters. A sawmill serves the double purpose of furnishing sawdust 
for packing the ice and of providing the treeless portion of Western 
Alaska with rough lumber. The only span of horses west of Sitka is 
attached to this establishment. 

Two other firms, the Alaska Commercial Company and the "Western 
Fur and Trading Company, have stores at St. Paul village and various 
points on the island, and competition in that line is made still more brisk 
by occasional visits of whalers, private traders, and fishermen, who all 
combine in forcing upon the lucky natives the highest possible prices for 
their furs. Another source of income for the more industrious among the 
inhabitants of Kadiak is the cutting of cord wood for the trading-stations 
located westward and southward of the timber-line. 

From Kadiak southward extends the range of " sea-otter grounds," the 
region where that most valuable among the fur-bearing animals of Alaska 
is chiefly found. The islands and main land of all this section, extending 
to the western extremity of the Aleutian chain (and also of the United 
States), are entirely devoid of trees ; the soil still produces grass, flowers, 
and a variety of berries, but potatoes and vegetables do not succeed, as 
they do farther to the north. At the Shumagin Islands, about three hun- 
dred miles south of Kadiak, the fishing-craft of San Francisco reap their 
rich harvest of codfish every year, and could easily increase their catch 
tenfold could they but find a market for it. The fishermen have a per- 
manent station here bearing the romantic name of Pirate Cove, where 
they collect the catch of small boats, partially cure the fish, and then 
ship them to San Francisco. 

Some ten or twelve white men (American and English) have settled at 
Delarof Harbor, Ounga Island, and married native women, and on the 
strength of their intimate alliance with the aborigines they have been 
granted the privilege of hunting sea-otters, reserved to the people of the 
country by an existing most wise and just regulation of the Treasury De- 
partment. As these men employ firearms and other devices apt to anni- 
hilate or frighten away the precious animals, they are not looked upon 
with favor by their neighbors. 

A coal-mine has been prospected and worked " by fits and starts " for 
many years at Humboldt Bay, island of Ounga, but has been finally 
abandoned as unprofitable. 

The most lucrative of all the sea-otter grounds is on and about the 
island of Sanuakh, near the southern end of the Alaskan Peninsula. The 



ALASKA. 4Ur> 

island is very difficult of approach, uninhabited, and surrounded by out- 
lying rocks, and probably for all these reasons it was selected as a breed- 
ing-place by the sagacious sea-otter. Hunting-parties from all parts of 
that section of the Territory are attracted to this spot, and a large settle- 
ment has been established at a most desolate spot on the main land not 
far distant. This village, Belkovsky, is composed of Creoles and Aleuts, 
who may be called the wealthiest people in the Territory — that is, they 
handle the most money — but they are also very dissipated, depraved in 
their tastes and morals, and their riches lodge in their hands only in 
transit to the strong-box of the traders. In addition to the agents of 
trading-firms permanently located at Belkovsky, a number of vessels clear 
every season for whaling and fishing voyages from San Francisco, with 
the sole object of cruising about these waters and " picking up " sea-otters 
by trading or hunting with men shipped for that purpose. The tempta- 
tion to pursue the searotter in every possible way is very great, in view 
of the great commercial value of the skin ; but what is to become of the 
natives of this region, which offers them absolutely no other source of 
revenue, or even of subsistence, when this animal shall have been exter- 
minated ? That is a problem to be solved by some generation not very 
far removed from our own. 

The chain of the Aleutian Islands, extending westward from the south- 
ern point of Alaska Peninsula for over eight hundred miles, contains but 
three settlements of any importance — Oonalashka, Atkha, and Attoo, on 
islands of the same names. The population of the whole archipelago is 
thirteen hundred souls, all engaged in the same pursuit — fishing for their 
immediate means of subsistence, and hunting sea-otters in order to obtain 
the wherewith to purchase clothing and other necessaries. The islands 
produce grass and berries, but the soil is rocky and the winters long, 
while a cloudy sky is the rule and clear weather the exception. Terrific 
gales sweep the islands from north and south, and the only fuel within 
reach of the inhabitants is the heavy, sodden wood of drift-logs carried 
from southern climes by ocean-currents and the coal and cordwood im- 
ported by the traders. The latter article is sold as high as ten cents for 
a single stick. This region has been spoken of as capable of supporting 
vast herds of cattle and of shipping dairy produce, but the absence of 
fuel and building-material, and the severe winters, will prevent immigra- 
tion of dairymen for some time to come, and the natives will never toil 
all summer to provide a few cows with hay as long as they can gain their 
livelihood by a few weeks of sea-otter hunting and fishing, and live in 
idleness the remainder of the year. 



496 THE GREAT WEST. 

At Oonalaslika a deputy collector of customs is located, and during the 
summer the harbor, with its substantial wharf and warehouses and many 
good buildings, presents quite a lively appearance. Vessels are entering 
and leaving almost daily from March till the first days of November, but 
after that the village relapses into the discomforts of snow, solitude, and 
wintry gales. 

The coast of the main land northward from Oonalaslika is generally 
low and barren. All along the northern side of Alaska Peninsula there 
is a scries of sandbanks and shoals much frequented by walrus, but re- 
lentless pursuit of these animals by whalers who fail to " strike oil " in 
their legitimate game foreshadows a time when the walrus, like the sea- 
cow, will be a being of the past, and ivory will rise to fabulous prices. 

Two rivers, the Nushagak and the Kuskokvim, discharge their waters 
into that vast bight of Behring's Sea called Bristol Bay. They abound in 
fish, and their lower course, for some twenty or thirty miles from the 
mouth, is thickly studded with Aleut villages, whose inhabitants live 
chiefly by the sale of fish and oil, and trade with the Indians of the in- 
terior. Trading-posts have been established at the mouth of each of 
these rivers, and a flourishing mission of the Russian Church numbers 
several thousand members. 

The mountains between these rivers and the Yukon have never been 
traversed by competent explorers, but indications of minerals — cinnabar 
and graphite — are reported as existing there. 

From the Kuskokvim northward to the mouth of the Yukon and St. 
Michael, the ultima Thule of permanent coast trading-posts, the seashore 
is almost uninhabited, but the Indians from the upper Yukon move tem- 
porarily to the vicinity of the coast during the fishing season. At St. 
Michael, and on the main land immediately opposite, the agents of the 
two principal firms engaged in the Alaska trade have located themselves, 
doing considerable business by fitting out private traders, who visit the 
interior and there purchase the furs obtained from the natives. Each 
firm also sends a small steamer, of less than fifty tons, once a year to Fort 
Yukon on the river of the same name, eleven hundred miles above its 
mouth, with supplies and goods for the traders. Small as these steamers 
are, they can enter but one of the many outlets of this mighty river, ex- 
ceeding the Mississippi in size and volume of water. All the other arms, 
extending over seventy miles of the coast, are not navigable, owing to 
shallow water and shifting sands. 

Both Russian and Roman Catholic missionaries have labored among 
the savage tribes inhabiting the vast basin drained by the Yukon, but 



ALASKA. 497 

the result has not been very encouraging. The whole region, though 
densely wooded as a rule, has an annual mean temperature below the 
freezing-point, and agriculture is of course out of the question. Game 
is still abundant, but fur-bearing animals — the beaver, fox, and marten — 
are decreasing year by year ; and what will be the future of this vast sol- 
itude must at present remain an unsolved problem. 

A trade that once assumed quite formidable dimensions between these 
Indians and the natives of the coast of Asia, across Beh ring's Strait, is 
also fast declining, owing to the facility with which the latter people ob- 
tain the most coveted articles of trade from whalers visiting their coast, 
without undertaking a long and dangerous journey to neighbors who were 
ever ready to take by force what they could not obtain at their own 
price. 

From St. Michael northward, and along the Arctic to the boundary- 
line, the Eskimo reigns supreme, and buys his own destruction (bottled 
up) from the " honest whaler " at the highest price, without the least 
danger of interference by customs or other authorities. 

THE PRIBYEOF OR FUR-SEAL ISLA1STDS. 

Having carried the reader along the whole coast of the Territory, we 
cannot close our review without at least a cursory glance at two little 
islands in the Behring Sea, diminutive in size and almost continually 
hidden in fog, but exceeding just now in commercial importance all the 
remainder of our northernmost domain. 

These islands, discovered by the Russian navigator Pribylof, and 
named after him, but now familiarly known as the Fur-seal Islands, 
form an item in our national revenue that reconciles, or ought to recon- 
cile, the most obstinate opponents of the Alaska purchase. Even now, 
thirteen years after the acquisition of the Territory and ten years after 
the lease of the islands in question by contract, the government has pock- 
eted in cash, without any expense of collection worth mentioning, over 
half of the sum paid to Russia for all Alaska, and there is no reason why 
this state of affairs should not continue until the people of the United 
States have been fully reimbursed. 

A locality of such importance to our treasury will bear a more detailed 
description and review in its various aspects. 

When Pribylof discovered the islands he found them uninhabited, but 
literally covered by millions of seals. Sea-otters were also plenty at that 
early day, but, as the more valuable of the two animals, they were 
promptly exterminated to the last specimen by the greedy Russians, who 



498 THE GREAT WEST. 

knew little of the possible commercial value of the seal. A force of 
laborers was left on the islands, and when a market was found in China 
for the fur-seal the killing — or rather the slaughter — began in earnest. 
In a few years millions were despatched, and half of the skins were 
spoiled for want of proper care, and thrown into the sea. This course 
was pursued even for some years after the Russian American Company 
obtained supreme control of the country, and the valuable animal was all 
but extinct when a far-seeing official of the company introduced a new 
system of management, and for many years at a time the seals were not 
disturbed at all, until a gradual increase became evident. But during 
all the long years of Russian rule a very moderate use was made of what 
subsequently proved to be a mine of wealth, and, in consequence, the 
seal-rookeries, as they are called, were in a very flourishing condition 
when Russia transferred her proprietary right to the United States. 

In early times life on these islands was exceedingly dreary and beset 
with hardships. Aleuts were taken there " by order " of the company, 
but often against their will, and they always embraced the first opportunity 
of returning to their homes. Their many complaints preferred on this 
subject finally caused the establishment of a rule that parties of Aleuts 
on these islauds should be relieved at least every two years. This rule 
was strictly observed, and up to the time of the transfer not one of the 
sealers employed by the Russian Company had ever dreamed of claiming 
any proprietary right in either islands or seals. With the withdrawal of 
the old company, however, enterprising American traders flocked to the 
islands, and in their rivalry and for purposes of their own they began to 
" buy " sealskins of the former employes, in place of paying them for their 
labor. The business was new and competition exceedingly brisk, and 
there was a fair prospect of seeing a repetition of the ruthless slaughter 
indulged in at the first discovery of the islands, when at the right mo- 
ment the government stepped in and claimed control, just in time to save 
a very valuable industry from extinction. The condition of affairs on 
the islands and their capabilities of producing seals were carefully in- 
vestigated, and in due time a bill was passed by Congress declaring the 
islands a Treasury reservation, and authorizing their lease to the highest 
bidder under certain conditions. After much wrangling the lease was 
finally awarded to the Alaska Commercial Company, incorporated in 
San Francisco and composed chiefly of residents of the Western me- 
tropolis. The company was permitted to kill one hundred thousand seals 
per annum on payment of a tax of $2.38 for each skin and a rental of 
$55,000 for the islands and government buildings thereon. The sealing 



ALASKA. 



499 



was to be done under the supervision of special agents of the Treasury, 
who had also full charge of the native laborers on the islands. The 
company was also bound by the contract to erect and keep in repair com- 
fortable quarters for the laborers ; to provide them, free of charge, with 
the necessary fuel in the shape of wood or coal ; to furnish a certain 
quantity of dried or salted salmon annually, also free of charge ; to 
maintain a school for them under the supervision of the government 
agent ; and to employ the able-bodied men and youths in killing seals 
and curing the skins at a rate of not less than forty cents per seal. 

Knowing that every movement of the holders of so valuable a monopoly 
would be watched with suspicion, the company lost no time in carrying 
out to the letter what the contract demanded, and in an incredibly short 
time the native laborers found themselves transplanted from a position of 
abject misery into what must to them have appeared as affluence. They 
were removed from damp underground dwellings (at first much against 
their will) into comfortable frame cottages with necessary outhouses, and 
furnished with stoves. At the end of the first season they found them- 
selves in possession of more cash on hand than they had been able to 
gather during the excitement and high prices of the first rush to the 
islands, because they had fewer opportunities for foolish expenditure or 
dissipation. 

Durino- the first few years of the present contract the most persistent 
efforts were made by unsuccessful bidders for the same to create dissatis- 
faction among the sealers and incite them to complaints against the com- 
pany. Many of the natives, who looked back with longing upon their 
brief seasons of wild dissipation, were only too willing to enter into such 
a movement, and the result was constant agitation, petitions with partially- 
forged signatures, and finally a series of tedious and expensive Congres- 
sional investigations that served only to acquit the company on all charges 
preferred. 

At present the condition of affairs on the two islands of St. Paul and 
St. George is this : The people, consisting of about one hundred families, 
perform the labor of killing the animals and skinning them, for which 
they receive compensation at the rate of forty cents a seal, or forty thou- 
sand dollars on the annual quota. The division of the labor and distri- 
bution of the proceeds are left entirely in their own hands, and managed 
by two chiefs of their own selection. In order to provide for all residing 
on the islands, they have divided their whole number into three classes 
of shareholders in the common revenue. Able-bodied men and skilled 
sealers receive a first-class share; youths and feeble men still at work, a 



500 THE GREAT WEST. 

second-class share, or about seventy-five per cent, of the former ; and 
widows without children, orphans, and sick people, a third-class share, 
or fifty per cent. Shares are also provided for the church, the school, 
the priest's family, and extra compensation for the chiefs who manage 
the affairs of the community. At public meetings held before the final 
division other special awards are sometimes made by common consent. 
As the season of general labor is only about six weeks, the Aleuts on the 
islands do not wait long for their returns. At the end of the month of 
August each head of a family or first-class sealer receives between three 
and four hundred dollars in cash, without being under any expense for 
lodging, fuel, and nearly all his food. Under such circumstances the 
prudent among them have, of course, saved money, and but few have 
succeeded in getting rid of all by gambling. They have now large de- 
posits in San Francisco banks and in the hands of the government agents 
on the islands, and every year a number of the young men go off on 
visits to their kin at Oonalashka and other islands, generally returning 
with a wife selected from the less affluent families of sea-otter hunters. 
The only complaint heard among them is of the total prohibition of in- 
toxicating drink, now rigidly enforced on both islands. 

The habits of the seal have been observed and studied to such per- 
fection that everything that could possibly alarm them or interfere with 
their comfort or customs is most carefully avoided. The officers and 
employe's have even been deprived of the luxury of fresh milk and beef, 
because the presence of cattle seemed to alarm the timid animals. Dur- 
ing the sojourn of the sleek-coated millions on the islands they are lords 
of the soil who can indulge their every whim, while man is of only 
secondary importance, and must give up any comfort that might interfere 
with that of the much-prized visitors ; and as long as this prudent man- 
agement is continued and rigidly enforced by the Treasury agents, the 
government of this country will be sure to receive from this small fraction 
of an immense territory an annual revenue but one-sixth of which is re- 
quired for the maintenance of the whole. 

The shareholders of the old Russian American Company, who so will- 
ingly parted with their vast domain, must now look with regret upon the 
living mine of wealth which bad management and shortsighted policy 
caused them to relinquish — a " mine " which at the present time pays 
better than any mineral vein in the great Territory of Alaska. 



LAWS IN RELATION TO EXEMPTION, ETC. 



CALIFORNIA. 



EXEMPTION LAWS. 

THE following property is exempt from execution for any debt except 
it be for the purchase-price of such property or the debt be secured 
by mortgage, lien, or pledge thereon — to wit : 1st, chairs, tables, desks, 
and books to the value of two hundred dollars ; 2d, necessary household, 
table, and kitchen furniture of the debtor, including one sewing-machine, 
stoves, stovepipes, and stove-furniture, wearing apparel, beds, bedding, 
bedsteads, hanging pictures, oil paintings, and drawings drawn or painted 
by any member of the family, family portraits and their necessary frames, 
provisions actually provided for individual or family use sufficient for 
three months, and three cows and their sucking calves, four hogs with 
their sucking pigs, and food for such cows and hogs for one month ; 3d, 
the farming utensils, etc. of the judgment debtor, also two oxen or two 
horses or two mules, and their harness, one cart or wagon, and food for 
such animals for one month, not exceeding two hundred dollars in value, 
seventy-five bee-hives, and one horse and vehicle belonging to any per- 
son who is maimed or crippled, the same being necessary to his business ; 
4th, tools or implements of a mechanic, or artisan, notary's seal, office- 
furniture and records, surgeon, physician, music-teacher, surveyor, or den- 
tist's instruments, books, etc., and professional libraries and furniture of 
attorneys and judges, and libraries of ministers, editors, and school- and 
music-teachers, and all the indexes, abstracts, books, papers, maps, and 
office-furniture of searchers of records necessary to be used in their profes- 
sion ; 5th, a miner's cabin, not exceeding five hundred dollars in value, also 
the sluices, pipes, and tools, etc. necessary for his business, not exceeding 
five hundred dollars in value, and two horses, mules, or oxen and their har- 
ness, and food for the same for one month, wdien necessary to be used for 
any windlass, derrick, car, pump, or hoisting-gear, and the miner's derrick, 

501 



502 THE GREAT WEST. 

worked by him, not exceeding one thousand dollars in value ; 6th, the 
oxen, horses, or mules, and their harness, and food for one month, and 
one cart, wagon, dray, truck, coupe, hack, or carriage for one or two 
horses, by the use of which a cartman, drayman, truckman, huckster, 
peddler, hackman, teamster, or other laborer habitually earns his liv- 
ing, and one horse, harness, and vehicle used by a physician, surgeon, 
constable, or minister of the gospel in the legitimate practice of his pro- 
fession or business, with food for such animal for one month ; 7th, poultry 
worth no more than twenty-five dollars ; earnings within thirty days of 
levy if the defendant swears that they are necessary to support his family 
residing in the State and supported in whole or in part by his labor, but 
only half of such earnings are exempt where the debt is for necessaries 
of life ; 9th, the shares in homestead associations, not exceeding in value 
one thousand dollars, if the debtor has not a homestead selected ; nautical 
instruments and wearing apparel of any master, seaman, or officer of any 
vessel; 10th, life-insurance policies and all benefits accruing therefrom, 
provided the annual premium shall not exceed five hundred dollars; 
11th, all fire-engines, etc. ; 12th, all firearms required by law to be kept 
by any person, and one gun selected by the debtor; 13th, all court-houses, 
jails, public offices, buildings, cemeteries, etc. The homestead, consisting 
of a quantity of land and dwelling-house thereon, not exceeding five 
thousand dollars in value, selected by the husband and wife, or either, 
or other head of a family, is also exempt. The homestead of a single 
person to the extent of one thousand dollars is also exempt. 

INTEREST LAW. 

Legal interest on a debt after it becomes due and on judgments is seven 
per cent, per annum. Parties to contract may agree in writing upon a 
different rate. The rate of interest was changed from ten to seven per 
cent. February 15, 1878. 

EIGHTS OF MARRIED WOMEN. 

No estate is allowed the husband as tenant by courtesy, nor is any 
estate in dower allotted to the wife. 

All property, both real and personal, of the wife, owned by her before 
marriage, and all that she may acquire afterward by gift, bequest, devise, 
or descent, shall be her separate property, and may be sold, conveyed, or 
assigned by her without the husband's consent. 

All property acquired after marriage by either husband or wife, except 
such as may be acquired by gift, bequest, devise, or descent, shall be com- 



LAWS IN RELATION TO EXEMPTION, ETC. 503 

mon property. The husband has the entire management, with absolute 
power of disposition, of the common property ; but upon the death of 
the husband the wife is entitled to one-half of the common property 
after payment of the debts and expenses of administration. In case of 
divorce the common property shall be equally divided between the hus- 
band and wife, except when the divorce is granted on the ground of 
adultery or extreme cruelty, in which case the court apportions the prop- 
erty in its discretion. The husband and wife may make contracts and 
conveyances inter sese, subject only to the general rule, as to contracts 
between parties occupying confidential relations. 



WASHINGTON TERRITORY. 
EXEMPTION LAW. 

All real and personal estate belonging to a married woman at the time 
of her marriage, and all she subsequently becomes entitled to in her own 
right, and all her personal earnings, and all rents and profits of such real 
estate, shall not be liable for her husband's debts so long as she or any 
minor heir of her body is living ; but her property is liable for debts 
owing by her at the time of her marriage. To a householder, being the 
head of a family, a homestead of the value of one thousand dollars, 
while occupied by such family, is exempt. But to reserve such property 
the word " homestead " must be entered in the margin of the record of 
title in the office of the auditor of said county. 

All wearing apparel, private libraries, family pictures, and keepsakes 
are exempt. To each householder one bed and bedding, and one additional 
bed and bedding for every two additional members of the family, and 
other household goods of the coin value of one hundred and fifty dollars ; 
two cows with their calves, five swine, two stands of bees, twenty-five 
domestic fowls, and provisions and fuel for six months, are exempt ; to 
a farmer, one span of horses and harness, or two yoke of oxen, and one 
wagon, with farming utensils not exceeding two hundred dollars coin 
value ; to a mechanic, the tools used to carry on his trade for the support 
of himself and family, also material of the value of five hundred dollars ; 
to a physician, his library, horse and carriage, instruments, and medicines ; 
to attorneys and clergymen, their libraries, not exceeding the coin value 
of five hundred dollars, also office-furniture, stationery, and fuel ; all fire- 
arms kept for use, and a canoe, skiff, or small boat not exceeding the coin 
value of fifty dollars ; to a person engaged in lightering, one or more light- 



504 THE GREAT WEST. 

ers or scows and a small boat, not exceeding the aggregate value of two 
hundred and fifty dollars ; to a drayman, his team ; to persons in logging, 
three yoke of work-oxen and implements of the value of three hundred 
dollars. No property shall be exempt upon a judgment for its purchase- 
price or for tax levied thereon. 

MARRIED WOMEN. 

A married woman may sue and be sued without joining her husband 
when the action concerns her separate property or her right or claim to 
the homestead property, when she is living separate and apart from her 
husband, or when the action is between herself and her husband. If a 
husband and wife be sued together, she may defend her own right, and 
his also if he neglects to do so. All property, both real and personal, 
owned by the wife before marriage, and that acquired afterward by gift, 
devise, or descent, is her separate property. Property thus acquired by 
the husband constitutes his separate property. All property acquired 
during marriage, except by gift, devise, or descent, constitutes their com- 
mon property. 

INTEREST LAW. 

The legal rate of interest is ten per cent, per annum ; any rate of in- 
terest agreed upon in writing shall be valid. Judgments bear legal 
interest from date except when rendered upon an express contract in 
writing wherein a different rate is agreed upon, in which case the judg- 
ment bears same rate. 



MONTANA. 



EXEMPTION LAWS. 

All clothing of the debtor and family, and chairs, tables, desks, and 
books to the value of one hundred dollars, also all necessary household, 
table, and kitchen furniture, which includes every article in use for the 
comfort of the debtor or his family, and provisions and fuel actually pro- 
vided for individual or family use sufficient for two months, are exempt ; 
one sewing-machine, not exceeding the value of one hundred dollars, in 
actual use by the debtor or his family; also one horse, two cows with their 
calves, two swine, and fifty domestic fowl. In addition to the above there 
is exempt to a farmer his farming utensils, not exceeding in value six 
hundred dollars, two oxen or one horse or mule, and their harness, two 
cows, one cart or wagon, and food for such stock for three months ; two 



LAWS IN RELATION TO EXEMPTION, ETC. 505 

hundred dollars' worth of seeds, grain, or vegetables actually provided for 
the purpose of sowing or planting ; the proper tools, instruments, or books 
of any mechanic, physician, dentist, lawyer, or clergyman ; to a miner, his 
dwelling, not exceeding in value five hundred dollars, and one horse, 
mule, or two oxen, and their harness, witli their food for three months, in 
case such stock is used necessarily in connection with any species of hoist- 
ing-gear upon the mine; one horse,.mule, or two oxen, with vehicle and 
harness, by which the debtor habitually earns his living, and one horse, 
with vehicle and harness, of a physician or clergyman, used in making 
professional visits, with food for such stock for three months ; all arms, 
uniforms, etc., required by law to be kept by any person ; all property 
generally held by the town or county for the benefit of the county or the 
public, except as against a vendor's lien or a mortgage ; the wages of the 
debtor earned at any time within thirty days next preceding the levy, pro- 
vided they are necessary for the use of his family residing in the Terri- 
tory, supported wholly or in part by his labor. None but bond fide resi- 
dents can claim the benefits of this law. A homestead ' not to exceed in 
value twenty-five hundred dollars is exempt ; if agricultural land, it is 
not to exceed one hundred and sixty acres ; if within the limits of a town- 
plot, city, or village, not to exceed one-fourth of an acre. The debtor 
has his option of the two, and may select either, with all improvements 
thereon which are included in the valuation. Such exemption does not 
affect the lien of any mechanic or laborer or extend to any mortgage legally 
obtained. 

INTEREST LAW. 

Parties may stipulate for any rate of interest. When no contract is 
made as to interest, the legal rate, ten per cent, per annum, governs after 
the debt is due. There is no usury law. 

EIGHTS OF MARRIED WOMEN. 

The property of a married woman, owned before marriage, and any 
acquired after marriage by gift, grant, devise, descent, or otherwise, and 
the use, increase, and profits thereof, are exempt from debts or liabilities 
of the husband, except for necessaries for the benefit of herself and 
children under eighteen years of age. But such property so claimed 
must be set forth in a list to be recorded with the register of deeds in 
the county where she resides. 

By the act of February 4, 1874, a married woman may become a sole 
trader by making, acknowledging, and recording with the county recorder 
of deeds her intention so to do, and setting forth the nature of the busi- 



506 THE GREAT WEST. 

ness that she intends to transact. If the amount of her investment in 
business exceeds ten thousand dollars, the declaration must contain a state- 
ment under oath that the surplus above ten thousand dollars did not come 
from any funds belonging to her husband. Such married woman is re- 
sponsible fur the maintenance of her children. The husband is not liable 
for any debts contracted in the course of business done by his wife, except 
by special consent in writing. 



KANSAS. 



EXEMPTION LAWS. 

The constitution provides that a homestead to the extent of one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of farming land, or of one acre within the limits of 
an incorporated town or city occupied as a residence by the family of the 
owner, together with all the improvements upon the same, shall be ex- 
empted from forced sale under the process of law, and shall not be alien- 
ated without a joint consent of husband and wife when the relation ex- 
ists ; but no property shall be exempt from sale for taxes or for the 
payment of obligations contracted for the purchase of said premises or 
for the erection of improvements thereon. But this does not apply where 
a lien is given by consent of husband and wife. By statute each resi- 
dent, being the head of a family, is entitled to have exempt from seizure 
and sale upon any judicial process the family books and musical instru- 
ments, a seat or pew in church and lot in burial-ground, all wearing 
apparel, bedsteads, bedding, stove, and cooking-utensils used by the 
family, one sewing-machine, all implements of industry, five hundred 
dollars' worth of other household furniture, two cows, ten hogs, one yoke 
of oxen, and one horse or mule (or in lieu of one yoke of oxen and one 
horse or mule a span of horses or mules), twenty sheep and the wool from 
the same, the necessary food for the stock above described for one year, 
either provided or growing, one wagon, cart, or dray, two ploughs, one 
drag, and other farming utensils, including harness and tackle and har- 
ness for teams, not exceeding in value three hundred dollars, provisions 
for the support and use of the family for one year, the necessary tools 
and implements of any mechanic, miner, or other person, used and kept 
for the purpose of carrying on his trade or business, and in addition 
thereto stock in trade not exceeding four hundred dollars in value ; and 
the library, implements, and office-furniture of any professional man. A 
resident, not being the head of a family, has exempt his wearing apparel, 



LAWS IN RELATION TO EXEMPTION, ETC. 507 

church-pew, burial-lot, necessary tools and implements used in his trade 
or business, stock in trade not exceeding four hundred dollars, and, if a 
professional man, his library, implements, and office-furniture. 

INTEREST LAWS. 

Creditors shall be allowed to receive interest at the rate of seven per 
cent, per annum, when no other rate of interest is agreed upon, for all 
moneys after they become due ; for money lent or money due on settlement 
of account, from the day of liquidating the same and ascertaining the bal- 
ance ; for money received for the use of another and retained without the 
owner's knowledge of the receipt ; for money due and withheld by an 
unreasonable and vexatious delay of payment or settlement of accounts ; 
and for all other money due or to become due for the forbearance of pay- 
ment whereof an express promise to pay interest has been made. The 
parties to any bond, bill, promissory note, or other instrument of writing 
for the payment or forbearance of money may stipulate therein for in- 
terest receivable upon the amount of such bond, bill, note, or other instru- 
ment of writing ; provided, that no person shall recover in any court more 
than twelve per cent, interest thereon per annum. All payments of money 
or property made by way of usurious interest or of inducement to contract 
for more than twelve per cent, per annum, whether made in advance or 
not, shall be deemed and taken to be payments made on account of the 
principal and twelve per cent, interest per annum, and the courts shall 
render judgment for no greater sum than the balance found due after de- 
ducting the payments of money or property made as aforesaid. 

MARRIED WOMEN. 

The property, real and personal, which any woman in this State may 
own at the time of her marriage, and the rents, issues, and profits or pro- 
ceeds thereof, and any real, personal, or mixed property which shall come 
to her by descent, devise, or bequest, or the gift of any person except her 
husband, shall remain her sole and separate property, notwithstanding her 
marriage, and not be subject to the disposal of her husband or liable for 
his debts. 

A married woman, while the marriage relation subsists, may bargain, 
sell, and convey her real and personal property, and enter into any con- 
tract with reference to the same, in the same manner and to the same ex- 
tent and with like effect as a married man may in relation to his real and 
personal property. A woman may while married sue and be sued in the 
same manner as if she were unmarried. 



508 THE GREAT WEST. 

Any married woman may carry on any trade or business and perform 
any labor or service on her sole and separate account ; and the earnings 
of any married woman from her trade, business, labor, or services shall 
be her sole and separate property, and may be used and invested by her 
in her own name. 

Any woman who shall have been married out of this State shall, if her 
husband afterward becomes a resident of this State, enjoy all the rights as 
to property which she may have acquired by the laws of any other State, 
Territory, or country, or which she may have acquired by virtue of any 
marriage contract or settlement made out of this State. 



WYOMING. 



EXEMPTION LAWS. 

Every householder, being the head of a family, is entitled to a home- 
stead not exceeding in value fifteen hundred dollars, exempt from execu- 
tion or attachment for any debt, contract, or civil obligation, while such 
homestead is actually occupied as such by the owner thereof or his or her 
family. The homestead may consist of a house and lot or lots in any 
town or city, or a farm of not more than one hundred and sixty acres. 
The owner of a homestead may mortgage the same, but such mortgage 
shall not be binding against the wife of a married man who may be 
occupying the premises with him unless she shall freely and voluntarily 
acknowledge and sign the same, and the officer taking such acknowledg- 
ment shall fully apprise her of her rights and of the effect of signing such 
mortgage. Besides the homestead above mentioned, the wearing apparel 
of every person is exempt from judicial or ministerial process ; also the 
following property when owned by any person being the head of a fam- 
ily and residing with the same — to wit : the family Bible, pictures, and 
school-books, a lot in any cemetery or burial-ground, furniture, bedding, 
provisions, and such other articles as the debtor may select, not exceeding 
in value in all five hundred dollars, to be ascertained by the appraisement 
of three disinterested householders ; provided that no personal property 
of any person about to remove or abscond from the Territory shall be 
exempt. The tools, team, and implements or stock in trade of a mechan- 
ic, miner, or other person, and used and kept for the purpose of carry- 
ing on his trade or business, are exempt to a value not exceeding three 
hundred dollars ; also the library, instruments, or implements of any 
professional man, not exceeding in value three hundred dollars. The 



LAWS IN RELATION TO EXEMPTION, ETC. 509 

person claiming exemption must in all cases be bond fide a resident of 
the Territory. 

INTEREST LAWS. 

Any rate may be agreed upon in writing, but in the absence of express 
contract all moneys, claims, or judgments draw interest at the rate of 
twelve per cent, per annum ; unsettled accounts draw interest after thirty 
days from the date of the last item. 

MARRIED WOMEN. 

The rights of a married woman in this Territory are very nearly the 
same as those of an unmarried woman as respects her property, both real 
and personal. She may make a will, sue and be sued, make contracts, 
carry on a trade or business, retain her own earnings, and hold property 
real or personal, with the rents and profits of the same, in her own name, 
free from the control or interference of her husband, the same as though 
she were sole and unmarried. And her property is exempt from execu- 
tion or attachment for the debt of her husband. She has also all the 
rights of an elector, and may hold office and vote at all elections in the 
same manner as other electors. She may not, however, be appointed 
administratrix or hold that trust after marriage. 



IDAHO. 



EXEMPTION LAWS. 

The following property is exempt from execution : 1st, chairs, tables, 
desks, and books to the value of one hundred dollars, belonging to judg- 
ment debtors ; 2d, necessary household, table, and kitchen furniture, in- 
cluding stove, stovepipe, and stove-furniture of whatsoever kind, wearing 
apparel, beds, bedding, and bedsteads, and provisions actually provided 
for individual or family use sufficient for three months; 3d, the farm- 
ing utensils or implements of husbandry of the judgment debtor ; also 
tAVO oxen or two horses or two mules, and their harness, two cows, one 
cart or wagon, and also food for such oxen, horses, cows, or mules for 
three months ; also all seed-grain or vegetables actually provided, reserved, 
or on hand for the purpose of planting or sowing at any time within the 
ensuing six months, not exceeding in value the sum of two hundred dol- 
lars ; the tools and implements of a mechanic necessary to carry on his 
trade ; the instruments and chests of a surgeon, physician, surveyor, or 
dentist, necessary to the exercise of his profession, with his professional 



510 THE GREAT WEST. 

library and the law library of an attorney and counsellor ; also the wardrobe 
and books of an actor ; 4th, the tents and furniture, including a table, 
camp-stool, bed, and bedding, of a miner; also his rocker, shovels, spades, 
wheelbarrows, pumps, and other instruments used in mining, with pro- 
visions necessary for his support for three months; 5th, two oxen, two 
horses, or two mules, and their harness, and one cart or wagon, by the 
use of which a cartman, teamster, or other laborer habitually earns his 
living, and the food for such oxen, horses, or mules for three months ; 
and a horse used by a physician in making his professional visits; 6th, 
the fire-engines, with the carts, buckets, hose, and apparatus thereto apper- 
taining, of any fire company or department organized under any law of 
this Territory; 7th, all arms and accoutrements required by law to be 
kept by any person. But no article mentioned in this section shall be 
exempt from execution issued upon a judgment recovered for its price 
or upon a mortgage thereon. All court-houses, jails, public offices, and 
building-lots, ground and personal property, fixtures and furniture, books, 
paper, and appurtenances, belonging and appertaining to the court-house, 
jail, and public offices belonging to any county of this Territory, and all 
cemeteries and public squares, parks, and places, public buildings, town- 
halls, markets, buildings appertaining to the fire departments, and the lots 
and ground thereto belonging and appertaining, owned or held by any 
town or incorporated city, or dedicated by such town or city to health, 
ornament, or public use, are exempt. A homestead duly selected by hus- 
band and wife, or either, or by the head of a family, and duly acknow- 
ledged and recorded, not exceeding in value five thousand dollars, is 
exempt. 

INTEREST LAWS. 

Ten per cent, is the legal rate where there is no express contract fixing 
a different rate. Parties may agree in writing for any rate not exceeding 
one and one-half per cent, per month, but any judgment rendered upon 
such contract bears only ten per cent, per annum. Penalty for greater 
rate than above specified is three times the amount so paid, and the party 
receiving a greater sum subjects himself to a penalty of three hundred 
dollars or six months' imprisonment, or both. Interest does not com- 
mence to run on open accounts until a balance is struck and agreed to, or 
settlement is had. 

MARRIED WOMEN. 

All property, both real and personal, of the wife before marriage, and 
that acquired afterward by gift, bequest, devise, or descent, is her sepa- 
rate property, and all the husband's his separate property. All other 



LAWS IN RELATION TO EXEMPTION, ETC. 511 

property acquired after marriage is common property. The wife is re- 
quired to make, sign, and have recorded a complete inventory of her 
separate property in the office of the recorder of the county where the 
property is situated. The husband has the management and control of 
the wife's separate property during marriage, but cannot alienate nor cre- 
ate a lien nor incumbrance on the same except by instruments signed and 
acknowledged by both husband and wife. 

The district courts may on application of the wife appoint trustees to 
take charge of and manage her separate property if the husband mis- 
manages or commits waste. 

The husband has entire management and control of the common prop- 
erty and his own separate property, and the rents and profits of all sepa- 
rate property of both husband and w r ife are deemed common property, 
unless it is expressly provided in the instrument of devise to the con- 
trary. Upon dissolution of the community by death, half of the com- 
mon property goes to the survivor and half to the descendants if there 
are any ; if not, all to the survivor. Upon dissolution by decree of 
court, the common property must be equally divided, unless the decree is 
granted upon the ground of adultery or extreme cruelty, when the divis- 
ion of the same is left within the discretion of the court granting the 
decree. 

The separate property of the husband is not liable for the debts of the 
wife contracted before marriage, but the separate property of the wife is 
liable for all such debts. She may by contract make herself liable so as 
to charge her separate property. 



NEW MEXICO. 



EXEMPTION LAWS. 

Real estate to the value of one thousand dollars shall be exempt from 
execution in favor of heads of families, actually residing on the same, 
provided the exemption be claimed. But if, in the opinion of the cred- 
itors, the premises claimed as exempt are worth more than one thousand 
dollars, it shall be lawful for the officer to advertise and sell the premises, 
and out of the proceeds of such sale pay to the execution debtor one 
thousand dollars, which shall be exempt from execution for one year 
thereafter, and apply the balance to the payment of the execution ; pro- 
vided that no sale can be made unless more than one thousand dollars be 
bid for the premises. There are also exempt the clothing, beds, and bed- 



512 THE GREAT WEST. 

clothing necessary for the use of the family, and firewood sufficient for 
thirty days when actually provided and intended therefor; all Bibles, 
hymn-books, Testaments, school-books used by the family, and family 
and religious pictures ; provisions actually provided to the amount of 
twenty-five dollars, and kitchen furniture to the amount of ten dollars, 
both to be selected by the debtor ; also all tools and implements belong- 
ing to the debtor that may be necessary to enable him to carry on his 
trade or business, whether agricultural or mechanical, to be selected by 
him, and not to exceed twenty dollars in value. Real estate, when sold, 
must be first appraised by two freeholders of the vicinity, and must 
bring two-thirds of the appraised value. 

INTEREST LAW. 

The rate of interest is any amount that may be agreed upon by the 
parties ; but where none is expressed, then the law allows six per cent, 
per annum. All open running accounts bear six per cent, from six 
months after date of the last item. Judgments bear the same rate of 
interest as the obligation or agreement sued on, when expressed in the 
judgment ; otherwise, six per cent. Prior to January 31, 1872, twelve 
per cent, was the highest rate of interest allowed by law. 

MARRIED WOMEN. 

Married women are the sole owners of the property they inherit or 
bring into the marriage community, but can convey their real estate only 
by joining in a deed with their husbands. The husband has the control 
and management of the wife's property, and the proceeds become their 
joint property. The wife has no dower whatever except her private 
property, which is the first deduction from an estate, and has precedence 
over all other creditors as an implied privileged mortgage. After paying 
off all the debts, the remainder of the property is divided equally between 
the husband's estate and his wife, this being called the " acquest property," 
and under the laws belongs to the two, the relation of the husband and 
wife to each other with reference to property being almost identical 
with that of equal partners. After giving to the wife one-half afore- 
said, the remainder is divided by giving to the wife one-fourth thereof, 
first deducting sufficient to pay off any legacies. The wife becomes heir 
to all the acquest property if the husband dies without issue. A wife's 
separate property is not liable for debts contracted by her as agent for her 
husband for the support of herself and children, nor for the expenses of 
the family in any case. 



LAWS IN RELATION TO EXEMPTION, ETC. 513 



OREGON. 

EXEMPTION LAWS. 

The following property shall be exempt from execution if selected and 
reserved by the judgment debtor or his agent at the time of the levy, or 
as soon thereafter, before the sale thereof, as the same shall be known to 
him, and not otherwise : Books, pictures, and musical instruments, owned 
by any person, to the value of seventy-five dollars ; necessary wearing 
apparel, owned by any person, to the value of one hundred dollars, and 
if such person be a householder for each member of his family to the 
value of fifty dollars; the tools, implements, apparatus, team, vehicle, 
harness, or library necessary to enable any person to carry on the trade, 
occupation, or profession by which such person habitually earns his living, 
to the value of four hundred dollars ; also a sufficient quantity of food 
to support such team, if any, for sixty days. The word " team " in this 
subdivision shall not be construed to include more than one yoke of oxen 
or pair of horses or mules, as the case may be. 

The following property, if owned by a householder, in actual use or 
kept for use by and for his family, or when being removed from one 
habitation to another on a change of residence: Ten sheep, with one 
year's fleece or the yarn or cloth manufactured therefrom; two cows and 
five swine ; household goods, furniture, and utensils to the value of three 
hundred dollars ; also food sufficient to support such animals, if any, for 
three months, and provisions actually provided for family use and neces- 
sary for the support of such householder and family for six months ; the 
seat or pew occupied by a householder or his family in a place of public 
worship ; all property of the State or any county, incorporated city, town, 
or village therein, or any other public or municipal corporation of like 
character. No article of property, or if the same has been sold or ex- 
changed, then neither the proceeds of such sale nor the article received in 
exchange therefor, shall be exempt from execution issued on a judgment 
recovered for its price. Every white male citizen of this State above the 
age of sixteen years shall be entitled to have and keep for his own use 
and defence the following firearms — to wit : either or any of the follow- 
ing-named guns and one revolving pistol : a rifle, shot-gun, double- or 
single-barrel, yager, or musket; the same to be exempt from execution in 
all cases under the laws of Oregon. 



514 THE GREAT WEST. 



INTEREST LAW. 

When no rate is agreed upon, ten per cent, is allowed, but parties may 
lawfully agree upon twelve per cent. 

Usury is punished by forfeiture of the original sum lent to the com- 
mon-school fund, and costs of action or suit are adjudged against the per- 
son seeking to enforce the usurious contract. 

Judgments and decrees for money upon contracts bearing more than 
ten per cent, interest, and not exceeding twelve per cent, per annum, bear 
the same interest as that stipulated in the contract. Upon accounts in- 
terest is only allowed from their maturity, and then only from the time 
when the balance is ascertained. 

MARRIED WOMEN. 

The property and pecuniary rights of every married woman at the 
time of her marriage, or afterward acquired by gift, devise, or inheritance, 
shall not be subject to the debts and contracts of her husband, and she 
may manage, sell, convey, or devise the same by will to the same extent 
and in the same manner that the husband can do with property belonging 
to him. When property is owned by either the husband or wife, the other 
has no interest therein which can be the subject of contract between them, 
or such interest as will make the same liable for the contracts or liabilities 
of either the husband or wife who is not the owner of the property. 
Should either the husband or wife obtain possession or control of property 
belonging to the other, either before or after marriage, the owner of the 
property may maintain an action therefor, or for any right growing out 
of the same, in the same manner and extent as if they were un- 
married. 

A married woman is alone responsible in damages for injuries com- 
mitted by her, except in case where her husband would be responsible 
with her if marriage did not exist. 

A conveyance, transfer, or lien executed by either husband or wife, or 
in favor of the other, shall be valid to the same extent as between other 
persons. 

He or she may constitute the other his or her attorney in fact to dispose 
of his or her property, and may revoke the same in the same manner and 
to the same extent as other persons. 

A wife may receive the wages of her labor, and bring action therefor 
in her own name, and she may prosecute and defend all actions at law or 
in equity for the preservation and protection of her rights and property. 



LAWS IN RELATION TO EXEMPTION, ETC. 515 

Neither the husband nor wife is liable for the debts or liabilities of the 
other incurred before marriage. Either is not liable for the separate 
debts of the other. Contracts may be made by a wife, and the same 
enforced by or against her in the same manner as if she was unmarried. 

The expense of the family and the education of the children are 
chargeable upon the property of both husband and wife, or either of 
them, and in relation thereto they may be sued jointly or separately. 

A married woman may contract expressly in reference to her separate 
estate, and such separate estate is liable to execution and sale for liabilities 
so contracted. Any express contract of a married woman made a charge 
upon her separate estate is binding, and she may be sued alone upon it ; 
and a judgment rendered thereupon may be enforced against the separate 
property charged. 

Women become of age at eighteen or at their marriage. 



NEVADA. 



EXEMPTION LAW. 

The following property is exempt from execution except upon a judg- 
ment for the purchase-money or upon a mortgage thereon : Chairs, tables, 
desks, and books to the value of one hundred dollars ; household furni- 
ture, etc. ; provisions and firewood for one month ; farming utensils of a 
farmer, and seed provided for planting within the ensuing six months, 
not exceeding in value two hundred dollars ; two horses, two oxen, or 
two mules, and two cows, and food for one month for such animals ; one 
cart or wagon, and tools of a mechanic necessary to his trade ; the instru- 
ments and libraries necessary to a surgeon, physician, surveyor, or dentist ; 
the professional library of an attorney and counsellor or minister of the 
gospel ; the dwelling of a miner, not exceeding in value five hundred 
dollars, and two horses, two oxen, or two mules, the harness and food 
for one month for such animals when they are necessary in his mining 
operations; two oxen, two horses, or two mules, and their harness, 
and one cart or wagon, by the use of which a teamster or other 
laborer habitually earns his living; one horse, harness, and vehicle of 
a physician or surgeon or minister of the gospel, and food for such 
animal for one month ; one sewing-machine in actual use in the debtor's 
family, not exceeding in value One hundred and fifty dollars ; all fire- 
engines and property of fire companies ; all arms, etc. required by law to 
be kept by any person ; all public property of State, counties, towns, etc. ; 



516 THE GREAT WEST. 

a homestead, to be selected by the husband and wife or other head of a 
family, not exceeding in value five thousand dollars. 

A homestead duly recorded cannot be alienated except by the consent 
of both husband and wife (where that relation exists), which consent must 
be in writing and duly acknowledged and recorded. The joint deed or 
conveyance has the same effect. 

INTEREST LAW. 

Ten per cent, per annum is legal interest, but parties may contract in 
writing for the payment of any other rate. After judgment on such a 
contract only the original claim shall draw interest. 

MARRIED WOMEN. 

All property of the wife owned by her before marriage, and that ac- 
quired afterward by gift, bequest, devise, or descent, shall be her separate 
property. All property acquired after marriage by either husband or 
wife, except such as may be acquired by gift, devise, or descent, shall be 
common property. 

The husband has absolute control of the common property during the 
existence of the marriage, and may dispose of it as his own separate estate. 
The wife may, without consent of her husband, convey, charge, incum- 
ber, or otherwise in any manner dispose of her separate property. 

A woman becomes of age at eighteen. 

The wife must support the husband out of her separate property when 
he has no separate property and they have no community property, and 
he from infirmity is not able or competent to support himself. 

The husband can have no estate by courtesy, nor the wife any estate 
by dower. Upon the death of the husband one-half of the common prop- 
erty, after paying the debts, family allowance, and expenses of adminis- 
tration, shall go to the surviving wife. In case of a divorce the common 
property shall be equally divided between the parties, except when granted 
upon the ground of adultery or extreme cruelty, in which case the court 
may divide it as shall seem just. 

After marriage the separate property of the wife shall continue liable 
for her debts contracted before marriage. 

A married woman may make contracts in her own name, buy goods, 
give notes in settlement of purchases, binding her own separate property, 
real and personal. 



LAWS IN RELATION TO EXEMPTION, ETC. 517 



NEBRASKA. 



EXEMPTION LAW. 



There is exempt from judicial sale to every family, whether owned by 
the husband or wife, a homestead, which, if within a town-plot, must not 
exceed one-half an acre in extent, and if not within a town-plot must not 
in the aggregate exceed one hundred and sixty acres; but if, when thus 
limited in either case, its value is less than five hundred dollars, it may 
be enlarged until its value reaches that amount; provided that a home- 
stead shall in no event exceed in value the sum of two thousand dollars. 
In case the debtor has no lands there are exempt from execution five hun- 
dred dollars in personal property. The clothing of the family, family 
supplies for six months, supplies for domestic animals for three months, 
furniture, family Bible, and picture-books, cooking utensils, certain do- 
mestic animals, tools, implements of trade, etc., are exempt; also, sixty 
days' wages to any laboring man, clerk, etc. ; provided that there is no 
exemption from attachment or execution for wages due to any clerk, 
laborer, or mechanic, or for money due and owing by any attorney-at-law 
for money or other valuable consideration received by such attorney for 
any person or persons. A conveyance or incumbrance by the owner is of 
no validity unless the husband and wife, if the owner is married, concur 
in and sign the same joint instrument. 

The homestead may be sold for debts created by written contracts exe- 
cuted by the persons having the power to convey, and expressly stipulating 
that the homestead is liable therefor ; but it shall not in such case be sold 
except to supply the deficiency remaining after exhausting the other prop- 
erty pledged for the payment of the debt in the same written contract. 

INTEREST LAW. 

The legal rate of interest has been made seven per cent., but by agree- 
ment may be as high as ten per cent. Judgments draw as high a rate 
of interest as the contracts upon which they are founded. The acts and 
dealings of an agent in loaning money shall bind the principal ; and in 
all cases when there is illegal interest by the transaction of the agent, the 
principal will be held thereby as if he had done the same in person. 
Where the same person acts as agent for the borrower who obtains the 
money for the lender, he shall be deemed to be the agent of the loaner 
also. Any person charged with taking illegal interest may be required 
to answer touching the same on oath in any civil proceeding. 



518 THE GREAT WEST. 

Any officer or agent of a corporation or person, whether interested or 
not, may be summoned as a witness in any action for usury against such 
person or corporation, and required to disclose all the facts of the case ; 
but the testimony of such witness or the answer of the party as required 
shall not be used against such witness or party in any criminal prosecu- 
tion for perjury. 

The penalty for usury is to prevent the recovery of any interest on the 
principal or of any costs in the action. The principal can be recovered. 

MARRIED WOMEN. 

The property, real or personal, owned by married women at the time 
of the marriage, the rents, issues, profits, and proceeds thereof, and any 
property which comes to her except only by gift of her husband, remains 
her sole and separate property, not subject to the disposal of her husband 
nor liable for his debts. She may convey her real estate and contract 
with reference thereto in the same manner and with like effect as a mar- 
ried man, and may sue and be sued as if unmarried ; may labor or carry 
on business on her separate account, and her earnings are her sole prop- 
erty. If married out of the State, she may here enjoy all rights as to 
the property there acquired. The husband is not liable for debts con- 
tracted by the wife before marriage. 

Any will of a married woman conveying real property, or any revoca- 
tion or alteration thereof, is not valid without the consent of the hus- 
band in writing annexed thereto, attached, subscribed, witnessed, proven, 
and recorded. A married woman is personally liable for her contracts 
made in her own name, and her separate property can be made to satisfy 
the same. 

The property of a married woman, without act of hers, is not liable for 
her husband's debts. 

Males become of age at twenty-one, females at eighteen, but in case a 
female marries between the ages of sixteen and eighteen her minority 
ends. 



COLORADO. 



EXEMPTION LAWS. 

Besides a homestead of the value of two thousand dollars, there are 
exempt from execution and attachment various articles of personal prop- 
erty when owned by any one who is the head of a family and resides 
with the same, varying in quantity and value according to the size and 



LAWS IN RELATION TO EXEMPTION, ETC. 519 

wants of such family, and of such kind as is usually exempted by statute 
—viz. household furniture not exceeding one hundred dollars ; provisions 
for debtor and his family for six months ; tools, implements, or stock in 
trade not exceeding two hundred dollars ; library and implements of any 
professional man not exceeding three hundred dollars; working animals. 
to the value of two hundred dollars ; one cow and calf, ten sheep, and 
necessary food therefor for six months ; farm-wagon, cart, or dray ; one 
plough, one harrow, and other farm-implements, including harness and 
tackle for team, not exceeding fifty dollars. 

MARRIED WOMEN. 

A married woman may transact business the same as if sole ; may dis- 
pose of her personal and real estate, or make any contract in relation to 
the same, without her husband's consent, and may sue and be sued as if 
sole, and may convey her real estate without her husband joining in the 
deed with her ; and her acknowledgment to such deed may be taken in 
the same manner as her husband's. Execution may issue against her 
property on judgment obtained against her. 

Her separate property, acquired by her or left to her by will before or 
after marriage, is not bound for her husband's debts. She can make con- 
tracts in her own name, buy goods, give notes in settlement of purchases 
—can do any business the same as if sole, and bind her own separate 
property, real and personal. 

In all actions against her, except concerning her own property, her 
husband must be joined with her as co-defendant. 

INTEREST LAW. 

The legal rate of interest is ten per cent, per annum, and can be re- 
covered by suit on money lent ; on money due on the settlement of ac- 
count, from the day of liquidating accounts between the parties and 
ascertaining the balance due ; also on money received to the use of another 
and retained without the owner's knowledge, and on money withheld by 
an unreasonable and vexatious delay ; also on judgments and county orders 
after presenting and registering, State warrants after registering, eight 
per cent, per annum. There are no usury laws. Any rate agreed upon 
is legal. 



520 THE GREAT WEST. 



DAKOTA. 



EXEMPTION LAWS. 

The following property is absolutely exempt from attachment or mesne 
process, and from levy and sale on execution, and from any other final 
process issued from any court : All family pictures ; a pew or other sit- 
ting in any house of worship ; a lot or lots in any burial-ground ; the 
family Bible and all school-books used by the family, and all other books 
used as a part of the family library, not exceeding in value one hundred 
dollars ; all wearing apparel and clothing of the debtor and his family ; 
the provisions for the debtor and his family necessary for one year's sup- 
ply, either provided or growing, or both, and fuel necessary for one year ; 
the homestead as created, defined, and limited by law. In addition to 
the above-mentioned property, the debtor may by himself or his agent 
select from all other of his personal property not absolutely exempt goods, 
chattels, merchandise, money, or other personal property not to exceed in 
the aggregate fifteen hundred dollars in value, which is also exempt. In- 
stead of the fifteen hundred dollars' exemption, the debtor may select and 
choose the following property, which shall then be exempt, namely : all 
miscellaneous books and musical instruments for the use of the family, 
not exceeding five hundred dollars in value ; all household and kitchen 
furniture, including beds, bedsteads, and bedding used by the debtor and 
his family, not exceeding five hundred dollars in value ; and in case the 
debtor shall own more than five hundred dollars' worth of such property, 
he must select therefrom such articles to the value of five hundred dol- 
lars, leaving the remainder subject to legal process ; three cows, ten swine, 
one yoke of cattle, and two horses or mules or two yoke of cattle or two 
span of horses or mules, one hundred sheep and their lambs under six 
months old, and all wool of the same, and all cloth or yarn manufactured 
therefrom; the necessary food for the animals hereinbefore mentioned 
for one year, either provided or growing, or both, as the debtor may 
choose ; also one wagon, one sleigh, two ploughs, one harrow, and farm- 
ing utensils, including tackle for teams, not exceeding three hundred 
dollars in value ; the tools and implements of any mechanic, whether a 
minor or of age, used and kept for the purpose of carrying on his trade or 
business ; and in addition thereto stock in trade not exceeding two hun- 
dred dollars in value ; the library and instruments of any professional 
person, not exceeding six hundred dollars in value. 

No property is exempt except that absolutely exempt from execution 



LAWS IN RELATION TO EXEMPTION, ETC. 521 

for laborers' or mechanics' wages. Except those made absolute, the ex- 
emptions do not apply to a corporation for profit, to a non-resident, to a 
debtor who is with his family removing from the Territory or who has 
absconded, taking with him his family. 

A partnership firm can claim but one exemption of fifteen hundred 
dollars in value of the alternate property, where so applicable instead 
thereof, out of the partnership property, and not a several exemption for 
each partner. 

The homestead of every family resident in this Territory, whether 
owned by the husband or wife, so long as it remains a homestead, is 
absolutely exempt except for taxes, mechanics' liens for work, labor, or 
materials done or furnished exclusively for the improvement of the same, 
and debts created for the purchase thereof. If within a town-plot, it 
must not exceed one acre in extent, and if not in a town-plot, it must not 
embrace in the aggregate more than one hundred and sixty acres, with 
the house and buildings appurtenant thereon, and is without limitation 
in value. Such exemption continues after the debtor's death for the 
benefit of the surviving husband or wife and children, and, if both hus- 
band and wife be dead, till the youngest child comes of age. 

RATE OF INTEREST. 

The legal rate of interest is seven per cent. Parties may contract for 
a higher rate, not to exceed twelve per cent. A person taking, receiving, 
retaining, or contracting for any higher rate of interest than at the rate 
of twelve per cent, shall forfeit all the interest so taken, received, re- 
tained, or contracted for. Interest on open accounts commences from the 
time of last item charged, either debit or credit. Interest is payable on 
judgments recovered in the courts of this Territory at the rate of seven 
per cent, per annum. 

RIGHTS OF MARRIED WOMEN. 

A married woman may own in her own right real and personal prop- 
erty acquired by descent, gift, or purchase, and manage, sell, convey, and 
devise the same to the same extent and in the same manner as if she was 
unmarried. Contracts may be made by a married woman, and liabilities 
incurred, and the same enforced by or against her, to the same extent and 
in the same manner as if unmarried. Neither husband nor wife has any 
interest in the property of the other, but neither can be, excluded from 
the other's dwelling. Either husband or wife may enter into any engage- 
ment or transaction with the other or with any other person respecting 



522 THE GREAT WEST. 

property which either might enter into if unmarried, subject in transac- 
tions between themselves to the general rules which control the actions 
of persons occupying confidential relations with each other, as defined by 
the law of trusts. 

A husband and wife may hold real or personal property together, 
jointly or in common. 

Neither husband nor wife, as such, is answerable for the acts of the 
other. 

The earnings of the wife are not liable for debts of the husband, and 
the earnings and accumulations of the wife and of her minor children 
living with her or in her custody, while she is living separate from her 
husband, are the separate property of the wife. 

The separate property of the husband is not liable for the debts of the 
wife contracted before the marriage. The separate property of the wife 
is not liable for the debts of her husband, but is liable for her own debts 
contracted before or after marriage. 

A wife's separate property is not liable for debts contracted for the 
support of herself, her children, or the family, as her husband's agent. 

A married woman may buy and sell goods, give notes, or other obliga- 
tions, and sue and be sued, the same as if unmarried. 




GOVERNMENT LANDS, AND HOW TO GET THEM. 



Soldiers' and Sailors' Homesteads. — By various amendments to the Homestead 
Act in favor of the soldiers and sailors of the late war, it is provided as follows : 

1. Every soldier and officer of the army, and every seaman, marine, and officer of the 
navy, who served not less than ninety days in the army or navy of the United States 
"during the recent rebellion," and who was honorably discharged and who has since re- 
mained loyal, is entitled to enter one hundred and sixty acres of land either outside or 
inside the limits of railroad (/rants. 2. The time of service in the army or navy, or the 
whole term of enlistment if discharged on account of wounds or disability, shall be de- 
ducted from the live years' residence heretofore required to perfect title ; provided, that 
each homestead settler shall reside upon, improve, and cultivate his homestead for a period 
of at least one year immediately after he shall commence his improvements. 3. The un- 
married widow or the orphan children of a person who, if living, would be entitled to the 
privileges of this act, may enter lands under its provisions; and if the person died during 
his term of enlistment the widow or minor children shail have the benefit of the whole 
term of such enlistment. 4. Any person entitled to the benefits of this act may file his claim 
for a homestead at the local land-office nearest such homestead through an agent { without being 
present in person), and shall have six months thereafter within which to make his entry and com- 
mence his settlement and improvement upon the land. The agent must have a duly-executed 
power of attorney from the person for whom he acts. 

Homesteads. — 1. Under the Homestead Law the right is extended to every citizen, 
and to those who have declared their intention to become such, to enter one hundred and sixty 
acres of land, either inside or outside the limits of railroad grants. 

2. Actual settlement and cultivation for a continuous period of five years, together with 
the payment to the United States Land Keceiver of the fees allowed by law, are the basis 
of a patent or complete title for the homestead. 

3. The widow or heirs of the settler, in case of his death before the consummation of 
the claim, may continue settlement or cultivation, and obtain title upon making requisite 
proof. 

4. Proof of settlement or cultivation must be made at the expiration of the period of 
five years, or within two years thereafter. 

Adjoining farm homesteads may be entered by an applicant owning an original farm 
contiguous thereto, when such adjoining farm with the original farm shall not exceed in 
the aggregate one hundred and sixty acres. 

Actual residence on the separate tract need not be proved, but it must appear that the 
settler has resided upon and cultivated the original tract for the period required by law, 
making use of the entered tract as a part of the homestead. 

No fees or commissions are required for this class of entries. 

Pre-emption. — Under the Pre-emption Law, persons entitled to the privileges of the 
Homestead Law may acquire the right to purchase one hundred and sixty acres of govern- 
ment land, whether within railroad limits or not, by filing a declaration that he or she 
has settled upon and claims the same. Within railroad limits the government price is 
two dollars and fifty cents per acre; outside of such limits, one dollar and twenty-five 
cents ; the entire amount may be paid at the end of six months' residence, or within thirty- 
three months. Pre-emptors are required to remain upon and improve the lands for six 
months. Taking lands under the Pre-emption Law does not prevent entry under the 
Homestead Law afterward. The same person may enjoy all the privileges of both laws. 
A homestead entry may be changed to a pre-emption claim or may be commuted after six 
months' residence. 

The Timber-Culture Act. — Under the provisions of this act any citizen of the 
United States, or those who have declared their intention to become such, can make an entry of 
not to exceed one hundred and sixty acres, either within or without the limits of a rail- 
road grant, on condition that one-sixteenth of the land so taken shall be planted with trees, 
cultivated, and protected for eight years, when final proof can be made and patent secured. 

Under the operation of these laws any settler can secure from two hundred and forty to 
three hundred and twenty acres of land at a most trifling cost. 

523 



MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION FOR TRAVELLERS. 

[Credit is here accorded to Williams's Pacific Tourist for much valuable information.] 



HINTS FOR THE TRIP OVERLAND. 

Baggage. — All baggage of reasonable weight can be checked from any Eastern city 
direct to Omaha, but is there rechecked. At Omaha all baggage is weighed, and on all 
excess of over one hundred pounds passengers will pay fifteen cents per pound. This is 
imperative. 

Railroad Tickets are easily procured for the whole trip across to San Francisco. It is 
better to buy one through-ticket than to buy separately. By returning on a different route 
from Omaha than the one you went, the tour will be much more interesting and give you 
fresh scenery constantly. Buy your tickets only at known railroad-offices, and never of 
agencies. In the West railroads have offices at the principal hotels. These are usually 
perfectly reliable. 

To Check Baggage, be at every depot one half hour or more before the departure of 
trains. 

Transfer-Coaches. — In all Western cities there is a line of transfer-coaches, which for 
the uniform price of fifty cents will take you and your baggage direct to any hotel or 
transfer you at once across the city to any depot. They are trustworthy, cheap, and con- 
venient. The agent will always pass through the train before arrival, selling transfer- 
tickets and checks to hotels. At Salt Lake City horse-cars run from the depot direct to 
the hotels ; there is also an omnibus transfer. Price, fifty cents. 

Without many exceptions, all railroad-officers, railroad-conductors, and Pullman car-con- 
ductors are gentlemen in manners, courteous, and civil. No passenger ever gains a point 
by loud orders or strong and forcible demands. You are treated respectfully by all, and 
the same is expected in return. The days of boisterous times, rough railroad-men, and 
bullies in the Far West are gone, and there is as much civility there as you will find near 
home. 

Railroad-tickets must always be shown when baggage is checked. 



ROUTES. 

Route No. 1 from New York. — Take the Pennsylvania Central Railroad, which leaves 
foot of Desbrosses street, by ferry, to Jersey City. To engage a good berth in your sleep- 
ing-car, go to a proper railroad-office and secure your berth by telegraph. There are 
local telegraphs connected with the principal Pullman office. Do this the previous night 
or morning, as then the best berths can be secured. Pullman cars run on the Pennsylvania 
Railroad to Chicago and St. Louis, direct, without change. Three trains leave per day. 
To see the richest scenery, take the morning train, and you will have a good view of nearly 
the entire State of Pennsylvania by daylight, the valleys of the Susquehanna and Juniata, 
and the famous Horseshoe Bend by moonlight. The Pennsylvania Railroad is always on 
time, the most reliable in its connections. 

It may not be amiss to state that the emigrant-cars are well furnished in all particulars, 
and equal, if not superior, to any other line, this being the most popular route. We here 
Bubjoin a list of rates of fare to various points : 





First Class. Time. 


Special. Time. 


I 
Emigrant. 


New York to St. Paul, Minn 


$30.00, 52 hours. 
57.15, 69 " 
64.25, 80 " 
37.25, 48 " 

138.00, %]/ 2 davs. 


$34.00, 5 days. 
50.15, 6 " 


$24.10 
33.20 
41.55 
21.55 

65.00 
75.00 
68.50 




" Denver, Col 


32.75, 5 days. 
105.00, second class. 


" " San Francisco 















MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 525 

Route No. 2 from Neiv York. — Leave vid the Erie Kailroad from foot of Chambers or 
West Twenty-third street. The advantages of this route are numerous. This is the 
famous Pullman line, which ran the first line of dining-cars between New York and 
Chicago. The meals are very line and service excellent. The sleeping-cars on the Erie 
Eailroad belong to the Pullman Company, and are the finest in the world, of extra width 
and extra comfort. The scenery along the Erie Kailroad (by all means take the morning 
train) is specially fine, and at points is remarkably lovely. The sleeping- and dining-cars 
accompany the train to Chicago. The route passes vid Salamanca, Atlantic and (neat 
Western, and Chicago extension of Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, direct, without change, 
to Chicago. Passengers also can take other sleeping-cars of the train if they wish, winch 
will convey them direct to Buffalo and Niagara Falls, where there is direct connection 
vid the Lake Shore Railroad or Michigan Central to Chicago. 

Route No. 8 from New York is vid the New York Central and Hudson River. 

Route No. 4- is vid the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Tourists by this route to and 
from California have many advantages. It is the shortest line from Chicago or Cincinnati 
to the National Capital at Washington. Its scenery, on the mountain-division between 
Harper's Ferry and Parkersburg, is grand and full of historic interest. Its dining-stations 
are exceedingly well kept, and the comforts of its parlor- and sleeping-cars are equal to 
the very best. Pullman cars run through to and from St. Louis and Chicago. 

California travellers choosing this route East will include Washington, Baltimore, 
Philadelphia, and New York in one ticket, with their numerous scenes and objects of 
interest. 

From Philadelphia tourists uniformly prefer the Pennsylvania Central, though many 
often wish to visit Baltimore and Washington, and thence see the scenery along the Balti- 
more and Ohio Railroad, and go westward vid Cincinnati to St. Louis. 

From Baltimore and Washington tourists have choice of either the Northern Central, 
with Pennsylvania Central connections, or the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Pullman 
cars run on both roads. 

From Boston. — Wagner sleeping-cars run direct over the Boston and Albany Railroad 
to Rochester, N. Y., and usually through to Chicago. Though this is an exceedingly 
convenient route, yet it gives no scenery of consequence. Tourists who desire the best 
scenery will do well to come direct to New York, the ride by steamer being always pleas- 
ant, and from New York make their start, the pleasantest time for departure always being 
on the fast special express in the morning. 

From Cincinnati tourists have choice of two routes: First, vid Ohio and Mississippi 
Railroad, direct to St. Louis, passing over the famous St. Louis Bridge, with omnibus 
transfer to other railroads ; or, second, vid Indianapolis, Bloomington, and Western Rail- 
road, which runs trains direct to Burlington, la., or to Chicago. This is one of the best 
through-lines West, and enjoys unusual favor with the travelling public. The equip- 
ments of the road are all first class, and passengers will find all the comforts of railroad 
travel. Pullman sleeping-cars run on either route. 

From Chicago three roads run across Iowa direct to Council Bluffs : 

The Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad crosses the Mississippi at Burlington, la., 
and passes through Southern Iowa. The Pullman cars are very elegant and the road is 
popular. This line is now running dining-cars attached to its express-trains on both the 
Eastern and Western divisions. Meals' served on them are splendid, beautifully cooked, 
have great variety, and are a great comfort to the traveller. Price, only seventy-five 
cents. 

The Chicago and North-western Railroad is the shortest line, and crosses the Mississippi 
at Clinton, la. The eating-stations on this route are all very fine ; in Iowa, especially, 
they are the best on the Iowa railroads. The Pullman cars are also verv superior. There 
has recently been added a magnificent hotel-car to express-trains, which increases the 
popularity of the line very greatly. 

The Chicago and Rock Island Railroad crosses the Mississippi at Davenport. The view 
from the railroad bridge is very beautiful, and the scenery of the railroad in the Des 
Moines Valley and westward is charming. The sleeping-cars on this line are owned by 
the railroad company, and are very good. The line has recently added some elegant and 
expensive restaurant- and dining-cars, whose fine meals are exceedingly well served. 
Price, only seventy-five cents. 

Note. — Upon railroads west of Chicago no sleeping-cars run through except those con- 
nected with the morning Pacific express-train. These run direct from Chicago to Council 
Blufis, where passengers will change cars for the Union Pacific Railroad. 



526 THE GREAT WEST. 

Steeping-Car Expenses. — The tariff to travellers is as follows with all companies: 

One berth, New York to Chicago, one and a half days, by any route $5 00 

One berth, New York to Cincinnati, oue and a half days, by Pennsylvania Railroad 4 00 

One berth, New York to Cincinnati, one and a half days, by otlier routes 5 00 

One berth, New York to St. Louis, two days, by any route 6 00 

One berth, Chicago or St. Louis to Omaha, by any route 3 00 

Oue berth, Omaha to Ogden, by Pacific Railroad 8 00 

One berth, Ogden to San Francisco, by Central Pacific Railroad 6 00 

RATES OF FARES TO CALIFORNIA. 



To San Francisco or Sac- 
ramento from — 

Albany or Troy, N. Y 

Atlanta, Ga 

Austin, Texas 

Baltimore, Md 

Bellefontaine, O 

Bloomingt.on, 111 

Boston, Mass 

via N.Y. City.... 
Buffalo or Niagara Falls, 

N. Y 

Burlington, Iowa 

Cairo, 111 

Cedar Rapids, Iowa 

Charleston, S.C 

Chattanooga, Tenn 

Cheyenne, Wy. T 

Chicago, 111 

Cincinnati, 

Cleveland, 

Clinton, Iowa.... y 

Columbia, S.C 

Columbus, O 

Crestline, O 

Dallas, Tex 

" via St. Louis 

Danville, 111 

" viS, St. Louis 

Dayton, O 

Davenport, Iowa 

Decatur, 111 

" via St. Louis 

Denison, Tex 

Detroit, Mich 

Dubuque, Iowa 

Dunkirk, N.Y 

Evansville, Ind 

Fort Scott, Kan 

Fort Wayne, Ind 

Galveston, Tex 

" via St. Louis.... 

Halifax (from Boston),N.S. 

Harrisburg, Pa 

Houston, Tex 

via St. Louis 

Huntsville, Ala 

Indianapolis, Ind 

Kansas City, Mo 

Keokuk, Iowa 

Knoxville, Tenn 

La Crosse, Wis 

Lafayette, Ind 

Little Rock, Ark 

Logansport, Ind 

Longview, Tex 



, Via Omaha 








Third 


Class. 


Class. 


Class. 


$136 15 






HO 65 










$73 10 
63 00 


135 50 


$103 50 


124 00 






114 05 






142 85 


110 00 


66 00 


142 85 


111 85 


66 00 


130 00 


99 00 




109 25 






122 00 






108 60 






151 25 






135 90 






100 00 






116 00 


88 00 


55 50 


123 35 


96 00 


63 50 


126 00 






111 00 






146 90 






125 40 






124 40 






136 45 




68 35 


140 45 






116 90 






120 00 






123 45 






110 00 






115 40 






119 25 






133 45 




66 95 


124 00 






111 75 






129 55 






121 85 






115 50 






120 45 






141 45 
145 45 




72 20 




15 50 






135 00 






139 45 
143 45 




70 95 




135 40 






119 85 


93 75 


59 75 


110 50 






109 25 






139 65 






115 85 






118 70 






132 80 






119 75 






140 45 







To San Francisco or Sac- 
ramento from — 

Louisville, Ky 

Lynchburg, Va 

Mansfield, O 

Memphis, Tenn 

Milwaukee, Wis 

Mobile, Ala 

Montreal, Can 

" via Suspension 

Bridge or Buffalo 

Montgomery, Ala 

Nashville, Tenn 

Newark, O 

New Orleans, La 

" via. Galveston 

New York, N.Y 

Ogdensburg, N.Y 

Omaha,Neb 

Parkersburg, Va 

Peoria, 111 

Peru, Ind 

Philadelphia, Pa 

Piqua, O 

Pittsburg, Pa 

Portland, Me 

Quebec, Can 

Quincy, 111 

Richmond, Va., via Cincin. 
andC.&O.R.R. 
" via Washington 

" via Nashville 

Richmond, Ind 

Rouse's Point, N.Y 

Savannah, Ga 

Selina, Ala 

Springfield, via St. Louis, 

111 

Springfield, Mo 

St,John(from Boston),N.B. 

St. Louis, Mo 

St. Paul, Minn 

Terre Haute, Ind 

Texarkana, Ark 

Toledo, O 

Tolono, via St. Louis, 111.... 
Urhana (or Champaign), 

III 

Urhana, O 

Vkksburg, Miss 

Washington, D.C 

Watertown, N.Y 

Wheeling, Va 

W h i te Sul ph u rSpri n gs, Va. 

Winona, Minn 

Zanesville, O 



$123 40 
143 00 

124 70 
129 00 
118 10 

137 50 

139 70 

140 50 

141 50 

128 40 

125 90 

139 00 
153 45 

138 00 
136 00 
100 00 

129 55 
112 60 
120 40 
136 00 
123 35 

130 00 

139 85 

140 50 
111 10 

135 00 

141 25 
145 50 

122 20 

141 00 
152 80 

142 00 

117 25 

128 20 
10 00 
116 00 
115 25 

118 75 

140 00 

123 00 

119 50 



124 10 
137 50 
135 50 
135 15 
129 30 
133 10 
116 10 
126 70 



97 00 

105 00 

106 25 
75 00 

104 00 

98 50 

108 00 

105 00 
86 10 



64 50 
65 

65 00 
45 00 



65 00 
65 00 
55 50 



Children under twelve years of age, half-fare. Children under five years of age, free. 
Baggage will he allowed at the rate of one hundred pounds for each whole ticket, and for all over 
that amount there will be charged fifteen cents per pound between Omaha and San Francisco, and 
about six cents between New York and Omaha. 
N.B. The above rates of fare are by the most direct routes to and from Pacific railroads. 



MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 527 

RATES OF FARE VIA UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD. 



FROM OMAHA TO— 


First 
Class. 


Second 
Class. 


Emg't. 


FROM OMAHA TO— 

Portland, Oregon, via 
Stage from Redding 


First 
Class. 


Second 
Class. 


Emg't. 


82.35 
3.10 






8143.00 


8118.00 


888.00 


North Bend, Nebraska 




3.80 






Portland, Oregon, via 










4.60 






Stage from S. Francisco.. 


125.00 


100.00 


57.00 


Grand Island, " 


7.70 
9.80 








9485 




45.00 






Palisade, " 


95.00 


7.-..0 i 


45.00 


Plum Creek, " 


11.50 
14.55 






Battle Mountain, Nevada.. 
Winnemucca, " 


95.00 
96.00 


75.00 
75.0 i 


45.00 
45.00 




18.85 






Reno, " 


98.00 


75.00 


45.00 


Sidney, " 

Cheyenne, Wyoming 

Laramie, " 

Evanston, " 


22.15 






Virginia Cit v, Nev., via V. 








31.00 


824.00 




& T. R. R. from Reno.... 


101.50 


78.50 


48.50 










99.00 


75.00 


45.00 










99.00 


75.00 


45.00 


77.50 
79.50 
79.25 


60.00 
62.00 
61.75 


§40.00 
42.00 
41.75 


Marysville, California 

Sacramento, " 

Stockton, " 

Lathrop, " 


100.00 
100.00 
100.00 

100.00 


75.1)0 
75.00 
75.00 
75.00 


45.00 
45.00 
45.00 
45.00 






Virginia City, Montana, 
via Stage from Franklin. 


118.50 


97.00 


73.50 


Los Angeles. Cal., via Rail 
and Stage from Lathrop. 














120.00 


95.00 


55.00 


Stage from Franklin 


126.75 


101.75 


78.50 


San Jose, California 


100.00 


75.00 


45.00 








San Francisco, California, 


100.00 


75.00 


45.00 


Stage from Franklin 


126.75 


101.75 


78.50 


Custer City, in the Black 










bo.00 


67.50 


45.00 


Hills, via Stage from 


45.00 


35.00 


25.00 


Boise City, ldaho,viaStage 


119.50 


108.50 


80.00 




40.00 
25.00 


32.00 
20.00 


25.00 
15.00 


Silver City, Idaho, via 




124.50 


113.50 


80.00 










Baker City, Oregon, via 


















124.00 


113.50 


80.00 










La Grande, Oregon, via 










38.00 






124.00 


113.50 


80.00 


Cheyenne, Wyoming 


69.00 






Walla Walla, Wash. T., via 










73.00 






125.00 


113.50 


80.00 




40.75 
115.50 






Umatilla, Oregon, via 

Stage from Kelton 

Dalles, Oregon, via Stage 




125.00 


113.50 






73.00 








Salt Lake Citv, Utah 


117.50 








125.00 


113.50 


80.00 


Walla Walla, Washington 
Chicago to Omaha, Neb... 


163.00 
16.00 






Portland, Oregon, via 


136.00 


119.50 


80.00 


St. Louis to Omaha, " .. 


16.00 


1 








1 



INFORMATION TO EMIGRANTS. 

From Chicago, West, emigrants are carried on the regular first-class express-trains, and 
make the same time as passengers who hold first-class tickets. The cars that are used by 
emigrants are good, clean, well-lighted coaches, with upholstered seats and backs, and are 
as good as the coaches furnished by many roads to first-class passengers. 

Emigrant Trains West of Omaha. — The trains carrying emigrants on the Union and Cen- 
tral Pacific roads west of Omaha are made up of comfortable coaches, nicely cushioned, 
and far better in every way than the emigrant-cars of the Atlantic seaboard roads. The 
passengers are not crowded in the cars, but plenty of room is given. Sleeping arrange- 
ments have been provided on the Central Pacific, and are similar to regular sleeping- 
coaches, but not upholstered. The time of these trains is about twelve miles per hour, 
which, making the time from Omaha to San Francisco by emigrant-trains about eight to 
nine days, gives passengers by them ample time to see the country as they move through 
it. Emigrants can get meals at the regular eating-stations along the line, or they can 
carry cooked provisions with them, and buy coffee or tea at the eating-houses and eat on 
the train. 

Emigrants' movables can go on the same train taken by emigrants from Omaha, as 
through freight-cars are attached to emigrant-trains. 

Neither second-class passengers nor emigrants can have Pullman sleeping-car accom- 
modations, and in this lie about all the restrictions that are placed on them. 

Emigrant Tickets are limited as to time, being good between Chicago and Omaha for 
eight days from and including day of sale. At Omaha you exchange this ticket for one 
of the Union Pacific Railroad issue, good for nine days from and including day of ex- 
change. No " stop-over checks " are issued on second-class or emigrant tickets. 



528 



THE GREAT WEST. 



The difference in time between express- and emigrant-trains from Omaha to San Fran- 
cisco is about five days. 



SPECIAL EATES OF FAEE FOR EXCURSION-PARTIES ON PACIFIC 
RAILROADS. 
The Union and Central Pacific Railroads will receive excursion-parties at the following 
ites for first-class passage on the regular trains : 



OMAHA TO SAN FRANCISCO AND RETURN. 



In parties of 10 each. 
" 15 " . 



40 " .., 
45 " .. 
50 " .. 
55 " .. 
60 to 75 i 



.8180.00 
. 175.00 
. 170.00 
. 165.00 
. 160.00 
. 155.00 
. 150.00 
. 145.00 
. 140.00 
. 135.00 
. 130.00 



These rates are available for such organizations as Free Masons, Odd Fellows, religious, 
medical, scientific, and other associations ; for hunting- and fishing-parties, tourists, pleasure- 
arid health-seekers who may organize parties in the same neighborhood. 

All arrangements for excursions to California must be made in advance with the general 
ticket department at Omaha, and a full list of names furnished, with proposed date of de- 
parture from this point. 

In all cases excursion-tickets to points beyond Odgen and Salt Lake must be purchased 
at Omaha, as only the issues of the Union Pacific Company will be recognized for excur- 
sions over the Central Pacific. These tickets will not be transferable, and will be limited 
to thirty, sixty, or ninety days, according to previous arrangement. The number of ex- 
cursionists for each train is limited to seventy-five. 

TRANS-CONTINENTAL TIME-TABLES AND TRAVELLERS' GUIDE. 

THROUGH EXPRESS-TRAIN TIME WESTWARD. 



LEAVE 
Boston 
5.00 p.m. 


LEAVE 
New York 


LEAVE 
Philada. 
11.55 p. M. 


LEAVE 

Baltimore 

10.00 F. M. 


LEAVE 

Cincinnati 
7.00 P. M. 


LEAVE 
Chicago 

10.00 A. M. 


LEAVE 
St. Louis 

9.00 A. M. 


LEAVE 

11.40 A. M. 


LEAVE ARRIVE ARRIVE 

Ogden : Sacram'to San Fr'sco 
6.15 p. m. 10.25 a. m.I 5.35 p. M. 


Sunday, 

Monday, 

Tuesday, 

Wed'sday, 

Thursday, 

Friday, 

Saturday. 


Sunday, 

Monday, 

Tuesday, 

Wed'sday, 

Thursday, 

Friday, 


Sunday, 
Mouday, 
Tuesday, 

Wed'sday, 
Thursday, 
Friday, 
Saturday. 


Monday, 

Tuesday, 

Wed'sday, 

Thursday, 

Friday, 

Saturday, 

Sunday. 


Monday, 

Tuesday, 

Wed'sday, 

Thursday, 

Friday, 

Saturday, 

Sunday. 


Tuesday, 

Wed'sday, 

Thursday, 

Friday, 

Saturday, 

Sunday, 

Monday. 


Tuesday, 
Wed'sday, 
Thursday, 

Saturday, 

Monday. 


Wed'sday, 

Thursday, 

Friday, 

Saturday, 

Sunday, 

Monday, 

Tuesday. 


Friday, 
Saturday, 
Sunday, 
Monday, 

Tuesday, 

Wed'sday, 
Thursday. 


Sunday, 

Monday, 

Tuesday, 

Wed'sday, 

Thursday, 

Friday, 

Saturday. 


Sunday, 
Monday, 
Tuesday, 

Wed'sday, 
Thursday, 
Friday, 
Saturday. 


Miles to S. 

Francisco, 

3412 


3344 


3226 


3110 


2632 


2403 


2338 


1915 


883 


140 





DIFFERENCES IN TIME. 

Passengers travelling between New York and San Francisco, etc., having New York time, will 
find upon arrival at the following places their time too fast by hours and minutes as indicated 
in the following schedule: _ 

Hours. M 

Detroit, Mich 36 Laramie, Wy 2 7 

Jackson, Mich 41 Rawlins, Wy 2 15 

Kalamazoo, Mich 46 Green River, Wy 2 23 

Chicago, 111 55 Evanston, Utah 2 29 

Mendota, 111 60 Salt Lake City 

Galeshurg, 111 1 5 

Burlington, la 1 8 

Ottuinwa, la 1 14 

Omaha, Neb 1 28 

Fremont, Neb 1 30 

Lincoln, Neb 1 31 

Grand, Island 1 37 

Kearnev, Neb 1 40 

North Platte, Neb 1 47 

Sidney, Neb 1 56 

Cheyenne, Wy 2 3 . 

Denver, Col 2 4 San Francisco 3 14 



Philadelphia, Pa 4 

Harrisburg. Pa 12 

Pittsburg, Pa 24 

Crestline, 34 

Fort Wayne, Ind 45 

Logiiiisport, Ind 50 

Utica, N. Y 5 

Syracuse, N. Y 7 

Rochester, N. Y 15 

Pingbamton, N. Y 8 

Elrnira, N. Y 11 

Buffalo, N. Y 19 

Dunkirk, N. Y 22 

Erie, Pa 24 

Cleveland, 31 

Norwalk, 35 

Toledo, 38 

Niagara Falls, N. Y 20 



Laramie, Wv 2 

Rawlins, Wy 2 

Green River, Wy 2 

Evanston, Utah 2 

Salt Lake City 2 

Ogden, Utah 2 

Corinne.Utah 2 

Promontory, Utah 2 

Kelton, Utah 2 

Toano, Nev 2 

Elko, Nev 2 

Battle Mt., Nev 2 

Humboldt, Nev 2 

Wadsworth, Nev 3 

Summit, Cal 3 

Sacramento, Cal 3 

San Francisco 



L£My'!2 



' o o 



^p. c$ 



**. ^ 






V o- Y * ° * > ,0 



... x .cv 




^ v : 



s ^ 







«- 
















^ "^ 



,0 O 












A * 










O0 



n ,n 












































V ^ " / 



















GO' 































